Not Your Usual Sort of Angel
by Chakat StarDust
Summary: Story of Seto's gaurdian angel, who does not want to be a gaurdian angel! Will he learn something new about the cold CEO, and who exactly is he?
1. Chapter 1

Wolf: Brand spanking new story! I'm experimenting with first person perspective with this one, so be nice everybody.

I didn't ask to be an angel, but here I am. The gods seem to find it funny to put a guy where he least wants to be, for some odd reason. I especially never wanted to be a guardian angel. All that floating around one person, whispering crap in their ears that's supposed to make them want to do good things, trying to protect them a little, I think it's utter and complete bullshit.

People don't listen to their conscience anymore, and even if they do they twist the words to suit their own purposes, especially the chump that I was recently assigned to; Seto fucking Kaiba. He's the CEO of a big-shot company that deals with games and gaming systems. I've spent some time observing him from afar and I have to say, he's a dick.

He's still in high school and sometimes there's this one kid, little, kind of strange looking with spiky hair and purple eyes, that tries talking to him. Kaiba most of the time just brushes him off. One time though he outright yelled at the kid, scaring him back to this other kid that looked almost the same as him, it looked like he was the kid's boyfriend or something because he kissed him and sat him in his lap.

I don't like watching him for too long, because every time I do, he's being a jerk to somebody else. He probably has some huge mansion with all these maids and butlers that he's a jerk to as well, but I don't watch him long enough for him to go home. I'm being a bad guardian angel, but I don't want the job. Maybe when they see how crappy I am they'll reassign me.

"Hey kid, need to talk to you." Michael, one of the Named Ones, comes up to me. The Named Ones are the only angels that have names; the oldest ones or, the ones that have made something out of themselves. These are the guys that you find in religion, books like the Bible, or the Koran, shit like that. Since they're the higher ups, they also are the only ones allowed to fully manifest; that is, allow human beings to see them in their entirety. I'm not a Named, so I have no name, and no privileges.

"What is it, Mike?" Michael grimaces. He hates the nickname, says it's demeaning. I just like getting under his skin, so I keep using it.

"You're slacking at your assignment." Michael says in his therapist voice. "Why is that?"

"Because I don't like the guy." I snarl. "He's an egotistical, self-centered twit, and I'd like to smack him one over the head." This aggression that I feel is not something you normally see in other guardian angels. It's more something you'd see in the avenging angels, or like those angels that are supposed to bring about the apocalypse, not that I've ever seen one of them.

"It doesn't matter if you like your assignment, it's what you have to do." Michael sighs. "From here on out you're on 24/7 watch for your assignment, and you won't be able to hide out in the afterlife until the bosses feel you won't use it as an escape from your job." I stare at him in disbelief.

"You're booting me out of here?" I ask him, my voice rising just a little. Michael purses his lips and then nods.

"It's not my decision, but I agree with it." He says. "You need to stop shirking your duties."

"If you'd give me some better duties I wouldn't shirk them." I snarl at him, balling my hands into fists. Michael shakes his head at me.

"It's no longer debatable." He replies and then claps his hands.

And just like that I'm on a street, surrounded by people that can just walk right through me. I roar out every obscenity I know, which is an impressive amount I must admit. I don't even know where I learned them all. Hell, I don't remember much, just the place they call the afterlife and my continued attempts to get rid of my assignment.

Growling, I glare into the nearby glass window. Of course, I can't see myself, even when angels fully manifest we can't see ourselves. No one knows why. Well, growling is going to get me nowhere, and if I'm banished it means that the bosses are already peeved enough with me, so I should probably get to my assignment, as much as I hate it.

Seto's POV

Of course those idiots can't do anything right, and now I'm forced to try to remedy their mistakes. As much as I hate spending too much time away from Mokuba, this is the last time I send anyone else but myself to negotiate new contracts. Storming into my office I page my secretary.

_You couldn't have talked to her directly? You were just out there?_

I shake my head. That little voice in the back of my head didn't sound like my own for some reason. I figure it's just nerves and ignore it.

"Nora, please tell Stokes and Brenton that they are as of now fired." I tell my secretary in a toneless voice.

'**Yes, sir.'** She says back to me.

_Of course, gotta fire people._ That little voice sounds awfully sarcastic, and strangely familiar, but I can't place it. Strangely enough I find myself murmuring out loud.

"Those two have been mucking things up for too long. I've given them all the chances I could because they came highly recommended but I have to draw the line somewhere." The little voice is silent, and I get the strange satisfaction that I've won. I shake my head, thinking that the stress of my life is finally getting to me.

I sigh as I pack up my laptop and my briefcase, preparing to head home; home to the one person that I actually give a damn about in this life; my brother, Mokuba. I head quickly out, hoping to avoid anyone that might be coming to bring me more bad news. Successful in that venture at least i make it down to the waiting limo unscathed and sit back for the ride home.

"Seto!" Mokuba throws himself at me as soon as I walk through the door. I hug him as he chatters a mile a minute about his school day, the soccer tryouts and the new movie coming out that he's going to want see. I smile at him and ruffle his hair fondly.

_Huh, so rich-boy has a heart._

That voice is back again, and it sounds surprised. I really must be losing it. I make a mental note as Mokuba scampers off to make an appointment with my shrink as soon as possible. I follow Mokuba upstairs, just to make sure he's finished his homework.

Angel's POV

I'm kind of surprised, really. I didn't know that Kaiba had a little brother, especially one that he doted on so carefully and lovingly. Currently he's helping Mokuba through some tough math problems. He's very patient with the kid, very unlike the impatient, demanding business man that I took him for.

You hear that Michael, I actually think this guy might be a decent human being; at least to his brother anyways. The rest of his personality and attitude stinks, so I still don't like him. Seeing how busy they are I decide to float up through the ceiling to perch on the roof. The stars are coming out and I just watch them. The lights go off some time later in the house, but I stay outside, watching until the sun rises.

Wolf: Review plz!


	2. Chapter 2

Wolf: I own nothing.

Seto's POV

"Hey Seto?" I look up from my morning coffee to see my brother giving me the puppy-dog eyes. That's never a good sign.

"What is it Mokuba?" I ask, sighing slightly. His eyes grow wider and he fidgets. Definitely not good.

"Can I have some friends over for a sleepover this weekend?" Mokuba asks me timidly.

"What kind of friends?" I ask, having the feeling I already know.

"Oh, just Yugi and his friends." Mokuba replies. I put down my coffee cup and give him my best severe look.

"Absolutely not. You know how I feel about those people." Mokuba's eyes instantly get even wider.

"But Setooo!" He whines. "I never get to do anything for the guys, it's always at their houses. And we can go in the games room, it's soundproofed, and you probably won't be home until late so you won't hear us, and Ryou will be able to keep Bakura under control-"

I hold up a hand to silence his tirade. "Alright, alright, they can sleep over." I admit defeat. It's the easiest and least painful thing to do in this situation. "But, if I find out anything happened then that's it for sleepovers, understand?"

Mokuba howls in triumph and grabs me in a happy hug. I return the hug and give Mokuba a smile. Mokuba dances off, presumably to school and to tell his friends that they could stay over for the night. I seriously hope that Ryou can keep his boyfriend in line, the kleptomaniac, sorry, former kleptomaniac has some strange ideas sometimes.

No time to dwell on that though, I have to get to work and make sure nothing goes wrong today. Stokes and Brenton are gone, but that doesn't mean some other idiot isn't going to mess things up. I really need to be making sure I have a closer look at who I hire from now on, I've obviously gotten sloppy. They'd come so highly recommended from the university though...

"So, finally got rid of Stokes and Brenton, huh?" I turn to look at the speaker and have to look down. Sleepy, pale green eyes blink up at me from behind green-framed glasses as my PR director brushes a strand of black hair out of her eyes.

"Yes, Nikita, I did." Nikita snorts.

"About time." She growls out. I give her a look, raising one eyebrow. "I knew they were going to be trouble from day one. Stupid college flunkies that got through on their daddies' money." She mutters.

"And how do you know that?"

"I did some digging after the first couple screw-ups from them." She replies, pushing her glasses back up her narrow nose. "Their fathers are very generous donators to the university."

"And why didn't you inform me of these things?" I ask, slightly annoyed. She shrugs, not at all scared by me. I like this about Nikita, she's get fire and she's not easily intimidated. It's a refreshing change from having everybody jump in fear at the sound of my voice, not that I don't enjoy that to some extent. The look that Nikita gives me at this time is an 'are-you-for-real' one.

"I figured you already knew and for some reason were either trying to give them as much chances as possible, or you were torturing them." She says. "Personally I hoped that you were opting for the second option because those guys were creeps." She says this with an uncharacteristic amount of venom in her voice.

"Did they do something?" She shakes her head and sighs.

"They just said things, annoyingly and persistently." She replied. I'm now certain of the idiocy of the two that I fired. Everybody knows not to mess with Nikita. Not only was she one of my most trusted employees, but she also knew how to parry words and blows with expertise.

"Well then, let's be glad they're gone." I say. Nikita's smile shows the chipped front tooth that many of the male staff find 'cute'. I manage to smile slightly back.

'_Oh, so rich-boy does know how to play nice.'_

I wince. The voice is back again. "Headache?" Nikita asks. I shake my head and then consider telling her. She's probably the only one that won't call the men in the white coats because she's mildly crazy herself. I once walked into a conference room to find her standing on the table, challenging the malfunctioning projector screen to a duel.

"Actually, I've been hearing this voice in my head lately." Nikita cocks her head at me in a bird-like way, clearly contemplating the possibility that I was making fun of her.

"Just one, or multiple voices?" She finally asks, calm as can be.

"One, and usually it's to harass me about being an asshole." I reply. Nikita takes one look at me and begins to laugh her head off.

"Boss...boss, that would be what us normal folks know as a conscience." She cackles again merrily. "Everybody's got one."

"Well, I didn't up until yesterday." I grumble. Not entirely true, I seem to remember a similar voice, though calmer, quieter and less antagonistic one, in the back of my head some time back, but then it disappeared.

"Well, guess it needed a vacation from you." Nikita shrugs and then heads out of the elevator. "Meeting a five, don't be late!" She calls as the elevator closes once more.

Angel's POV

"Kid?" Aw, hell, Mikey's back and just when it was starting to get interesting. I like this Nikita chick, she's got chutzpah. I turn my head away from the two chatting humans and glare a Michael.

"What is it? I'm doing my job, aren't I?" I demand. He sighs and rubs his temple.

"You are, but in a very unconventional manner." He says. "You do realize that the voice of reason is just supposed to be a whisper, not a yell, don't you? And you shouldn't be bating your assignment."

"Well, it's the only way he'll pay attention." I huff. "I swear you gotta throw a brick at this guy to make him pay attention to anyone but himself, his company, or his brother."

"Well, so far you haven't gone so far as to actually hit him, so I guess as long as your method is working you can continue to use it." Michael begins to fade back into the afterlife.

"Hey, Mike?" He comes back into focus, raising an eyebrow at me. "What happened to this guy's last guardian angel?"

"Oh, he quit because of stress reasons." Michael answers with a bit of a chuckle. "Goodbye now." He says and then fades away. Great, my assignment can drive even an angel to get stressed out. This is going to be wonderful.

Seto's POV

It's very late, past midnight when I finally get home. The house is silent, which doesn't mean much when the rooms are soundproofed. Quietly, I sneak upstairs to the game room. The door is open a crack and light shines through.

Peering through I see that all the 'geek squad' is fast asleep. The TV is showing a blue screen, which means they probably fell asleep in the middle of a movie, likely dropping off one by one. My eyes sweep over the group, noticing not for the first time the way the absence of a certain member makes this little group seem incomplete somehow.

I refuse to dwell on that however, and quietly pad into the room. Yugi and Yami are sprawled directly in my path, the taller with his arms around his boyfriend of a few months. Yugi mewls softly as I step over him and turns over in his sleep, nuzzling up to Yami like a kitten. It's cute, if you like that sort of thing. I turn off the TV and head back out, flicking off the lights as I do so.

I quietly go into my room and start to get ready for bed. "Look conscience, I don't need your opinions on how I run my business, I do so in order to keep it running perfectly, understand?" It's ridiculous that I'm talking to myself like this, it's not like my conscience is going to answer me. Still, it seems to settle me some, but as I start to fall asleep I think I hear that voice again.

'_You're getting my opinion anyways.'_

Wolf: Pretty please with chocolate on top, review!


	3. Chapter 3

Wolf: I own nothing.

Angel's POV

I decide to wander downstairs while Kaiba is getting dressed for the day. I don't relish the idea of watching him do such boring things. It's not like he's going to get into any trouble brushing his teeth, right? I've never watched him while he gets ready for bed either, that just seems stalker-ish to me.

I wait around for a minute, and then go back upstairs to have another look at the kids that had slept over last night. They're a mixed bunch. There's Mokuba of course, and then there are the two spike-headed kids I've seen before. The one of them looks really young, but he's in high school. The other looks more his age and tough too. There's also a brunet boy whose hair sticks up in a single spike. Another doppelganger pair with shaggy white hair and a brunet girl completes the little group.

They look like nice kids, I don't know, I just get that sense from them. Especially the little spiky one, he just radiates innocence. I don't know what Kaiba's problem is with them, but he's a jerk, so maybe I shouldn't wonder. It's strange though, I get a sense from this little group as though something's missing, something important...

All the sudden the taller of the two spike-headed kids yawns and stretches, waking up. He sits up, looks around, and his eyes fall on me. I start, he's actually seeing me! His eyes widen in surprise and he stands up. He opens his mouth to say something, but all that comes out are strange croaking sounds. He frowns and tries again, with the same result. It must be he's not allowed to talk to me, or even about me, I'll have to ask Mike about that.

For now I just give him, what I hope is, a reassuring smile and a wave. I'm startled to watch his crimson eyes, so strange a colour on a person, go soft and sad. In that split second I get the uneasy feeling that I'm supposed to know who this guy is; that I know him somehow and he knows me. But as Kaiba goes down the stairs and heads out for work, I can only cast him one last look before following after my 'assignment'.

Seto's POV

I have to give Ryou some credit I guess, for keeping his boyfriend in line. Not once in the house did I see any evidence of mayhem or destruction. I suppose though, not having the crazy Egyptians here helps as well. Things get hairy when they show up.

Oh well, it doesn't matter. It's not as though I have anything to do with them anyways, besides the unfortunate tendency to be forced into strange and dangerous situations with them, but we can all blame that on Yami. Nothing weird ever happened until Yugi unleashed him as I've come to understand in the recent months. At least things have been quiet for the last little while.

I shake my head at my train of thought as I head into the office. I need to focus on work. As I walk past the front desk of my office a secretary hands me a folder and a list of people who've already called and that I need to call. I go to open the door to my office when I hear a soft, almost inaudible sniffle from behind me.

Discreetly, I turn my head to look back at the young woman that I've just walked past. I notice now that her makeup is running and her eyes are watery and bloodshot. One hand comes up to rub at her nose as she sniffs again.

There is a common misconception that I am a cold monster that cares nothing about other people. The truth is, I can't afford to care. I can't afford to let people in this cutthroat world of business see anything they perceive as weakness. So, I have developed a very businesslike, and yes, cold demeanour in dealing with employees, partners and generally most people. I also do not tolerate bullshit of any kind, and that in turn has earned me a reputation as ruthless.

But, I am not heartless. I reward the people I feel deserve it, and I can be amiable, if I am certain that the person I am speaking with will not try to stab me in the back. Nikita is one of very few people like that. I want my employees to be at their best, and I want them to succeed, so they are treated with respect and dignity, no one can tell you otherwise.

I turn my body completely to regard the obviously upset girl. I search my mind for her name. It comes to me; Yuki, she's in college right now, looking to get a degree in teaching. That cleared up I walk back over to the desk and clear my throat. Yuki looks up and tries vainly to look presentable.

"Is something the matter, Mr. Kaiba?"

"I was about to ask you the same question." My voice comes out in the same tone it usually does, that is, with barely any tone at all. Yuki sniffs and looks down.

"My father passed away the other day." She says with a sob in her voice. I raise an eyebrow.

"And you didn't take time off?" She looks up at me in surprise.

"I thought I couldn't do that." She says.

"You are allowed two weeks of paid time off for family reasons in such events." I reply. "Who told you that you couldn't?"

"My supervisor, Mrs. Delancey." I narrow my eyes, storing the name in my memory for later.

"I'll be having a chat with her." I say. "For now, pack up, go home. I'll call someone up to replace you for today." Yuki managed a watery, but grateful smile and packed up her stuff. I waited until she was gone, called for a new secretary and then headed into my office, looking through my messages.

I all the sudden hear a soft humming in the back of my head, in the same voice as my 'conscience'. It takes me a moment to realize that it's humming If I Only Had a Heart from the Wizard of Oz. It seems that my conscience has a sense of humour. I'm not sure whether to be amused, or unnerved by this fact. He decided, for the moment, that it was better than having his conscience call him names at least.

Angel's POV

I can't believe what he just did! I mean, all this time he's been acting all cold and aloof, and he just tells that girl to go home and grieve? I'm starting to believe that I've been seriously underestimating this guy. I like the look he gets on his face as I begin to hum. It's a mixture of reluctant amusement and honest bewilderment. It's almost...cute.

"Hey kiddo." I jump and glare at Michael. I hate that he feels the need to sneak up on me like that sometimes, and I tell him so. He just chuckles at me. "Anything interesting happening with you?"

"Well, someone saw me this morning." Michael's reaction is an instantaneous lift of both brows, eyes going wide and mouth hanging open. He looks a bit like a goldfish.

"You manifested yourself?" he finally yells. I grimace because the yell is combined with a burst of light from him. From the frown on Kaiba's face he obviously noticed it too.

"Relax with the light show Mike, do you want him to notice us?" I hiss, not quite sure why I care if Kaiba sees us or not. "No, I didn't manifest, he just saw me." Michael gives me a thoughtful look.

"Who is this guy?" He finally asks. I shrug.

"I don't know, but he's got this weird hair with three colours and spikes and red eyes." Michael's eyes go wide again.

"You're sure?"

"Yeah. Who is he?"

"He's...a special case." Michael finally says. "Well, he can't say anything anyways, so I wouldn't worry about it." He pats my shoulder and disappears. I frown after him, wondering just what exactly he's hiding from me.

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Wolf: Review plz!


	4. Chapter 4

Wolf: I own nothing!

Angel's POV

I hate that Mike's being so evasive with me. I guess it's higher up stuff though, that I'm not meant to know unless I make it big. Which probably won't be for years to come, and by the time I do, that guy will be dead and I'll just be able to ask him myself, if I'm allowed back in the afterlife by that point. But I'm rambling when I'm supposed to be looking out for my guy.

I look around the office and see that he's left. I groan; there's no way I'm going to be able to find him in this huge building. I hear a patient, yet amused sigh behind me. I whirl to see Michael grinning at me. "You know, if you think about your assignment you'll be able to find him. It's like a tracker." He says to me.

"No, I didn't know that." I say, mildly annoyed. "I would if someone would tell me these things though." I cross my arms and give him a look. He shrugs his shoulders. "Hey, can I at least know the name of the guy that sees me?" I ask randomly as Mike turns to go. He pauses and gives me an odd look.

"Alright, it's not as though you can really talk to each other though." He says. "His name, at least now, is Yami Sennen."

"What do you mean, now?" I say, feeling my brow crease in confusion. "What he had another life before or something?"

"Something." Michael replies and then just vanishes. I really, really hate it that he does that to me. And I really hate that he won't give me a straight answer. What can I do though? Michael is sort of, I guess you could say my administrator. He's the one that makes sure I'm doing my job, and doing it right. I wonder if the other Named are as infuriating, or if I'm just stuck with the one that's guaranteed to get under my skin. Kind of like my assignment...which I really should be getting back to.

I close my eyes and think about Kaiba and in an instant I know where he is. He's a couple floors below me, and instead of walking down the stairs I just phase through the floors. That's one of the cool things about being an angel I guess, I can defy the laws of physics.

I find Kaiba staring at a projector screen showing some kind of monster. A bunch of guys are chattering at him while he looks from the screen to a small card in his hand with a slight frown. He shakes his head and opens his mouth and I wait for him to start yelling at the guys.

"The legs are wrong, see?" He says in a toneless, though calm voice instead. One of the guys takes off his glasses and squints at the card then nods.

"Oh yeah, I see it now." He says in a lazy drawl. "Some sharp peepers you got there, sir." He says admiringly as him and the other guys begin typing furiously into the various computers spread about. "We'll let you know when we got it all fixed up." Kaiba nods and heads out once more.

Kaiba goes into the elevator and that chick Nikita is there already. They stand in silence for a moment before Nikita turns to Kaiba. "Do you know how Pegasus got my number?" She asks. Kaiba turns his head slowly and gives her an odd look.

"Pegasus, as in..."

"Pegasus of the one eye?" Nikita shudders. "Yeah, that's the one."

"I have no clue how he got your number, then." Seto replies. "Is he bothering you?"

"Well he called once, told me I reminded him of his late wife. So I told him I was gay, hung up and he hasn't called back since." Kaiba turns his face away from her, but I can see the small smile he's struggling to hide anyways. Seto Kaiba is actually trying not to laugh.

"Aw come on." I say. "Just laugh a little. You'll probably make her day."

Seto's POV

I jump a little at the sound of my conscience's voice. Nikita gives me a peculiar look. "Something the matter?"

"Just my so-called conscience again." I reply. She giggles. "Is it normal that I think I know the voice?"

"Well shouldn't you?" Nikita gives me a perplexed frown. "It is your conscience after all."

"It's not like that, it's...I think I knew someone in real life with the same voice, and the same amount of annoyance and belligerence towards me."

"Well, maybe you pay attention to that person in real life when he or she is belligerent to you and so in order to get you to listen your conscience automatically adopts that person's voice." Nikita replies, rubbing at her nose.

"I just wish I could remember who the voice reminds me of." I feel extremely frustrated. I'm usually so good at remembering people, but this voice, a voice that I feel I should know very well, I can't remember who it is!

"You're Seto Kaiba, you'll figure it out." Nikita shrugs in a nonchalant way, as though she has these sorts of conversations all too often. I eye her with bemusement.

"Have I ever told you how odd you are?" Nikita's lips curve upward in a smirk.

"No, but I've heard it plenty of times from other people." was her cheeky reply before she stepped out of the elevator, giving him a little wave before disappearing. I shake my head. Once upon a time I'd offered Nikita a promotion, but she'd turned me down, saying she wanted nothing to do with the real dirty playing of the higher-ups in the business world.

I can see where she's coming from. I never know when someone is trying to get in my good graces because they enjoy working for me, or if they're simply trying to pull me down. I don't forge any sort of relationships besides purely business ones for this reason.

Angel's POV

I space out for five seconds and he's gone again. Man, Kaiba moves fast when he wants to. I'm about to figure out where he is when a nearby conversation catches my ear.

"...still think this place worked better as a weapons manufacturer." Weapons? Kaiba Corp used to deal with weapons? Huh, news to me. Personally I don't like a company that would further the nastiness of war, so I guess I got to give Kaiba koodos for changing things up.

"Well, what are we going to do about it? It's not as though we're high up enough to sway the boss...or take over his job." That makes me pause and I look over at the two guys speaking. They don't look like much, a couple of pot-bellied business men with balding heads and bad moustaches, but I suppose they don't have to look like jerks to be ones.

"Man, if Gozaboru was still around, or even the Big Five..."

"Excuse me?" I turn my head with the guys to see Nikita striding quickly towards them, eyes narrowed. "May I remind you that the Big Five nearly killed the boss and kidnapped and threatened his little brother? I'd really watch that kind of talk if I were you."

She stalks off while the two guys gulp nervously. I grin and wish I could high-five Nikita, because she is awesome. I settle for just following her around for a bit, forgetting that I'm supposed to be looking after Kaiba. She heads into the elevator and leans nonchalantly against the back wall.

"I know you're there." She says quietly. I jump and look around, there's no one else but me. Can she sense me or something? I stay quiet. "I realize you're probably not allowed to talk to me." She goes on, unconcerned by my silence. "You're the one talking in Seto's head, aren't you?" I desperately want to say something, but force myself to remain still. "Listen, I know he acts all tough and high and mighty, but look after him, ok? He's not as bulletproof as he likes to act." Her voice goes all sad all the sudden and I wonder what exactly she means.

Quietly, though I know it will probably get me in trouble, I whisper

'_I promise.'_

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Wolf: Review plz!


	5. Chapter 5

Wolf: I own nothing!

Angel's POV

I still can't believe that Kaiba has to go to school. I mean, he's the CEO of a multi-kajillion dollar company for crying out loud! He doesn't have to go to school, so why go? If I was running a company I certainly wouldn't be wasting time in high school. Especially seeing as he seems to have no interest in being there and more often than not corrects even the teachers on what they're teaching.

But here he is, on time and with all his homework, ready for school. As I settle down by his seat, he looks ridiculous in that tiny desk with his long legs spread out in front of it, I see that Yami kid come in with his boyfriend. I choose to lean against the wall, watching Yami out of the corner of my eye as Kaiba neatly writes down the warm-up math question on the board.

Suddenly Yami turns his head and obviously catches a glimpse of me because he turns away then does a double take. Very carefully he looks around but most people are either napping or trying to figure out the complicated calculus question on the board and so not paying attention to me. His eyes flick from me to Kaiba and then he gives me a slow 'you-poor-fool' smile. Since I'm not allowed to talk to him I settle for simply shrugging my shoulders and giving my head a little shake.

His smile turns into a smirk and he turns back to his paper. Since there isn't much opportunity for Kaiba to get into any situations in math class I decide to wander over to where Yami and his little boyfriend are quietly whispering to each other while doing the problem. I make sure not to draw Yami's attention and soon learn that the smaller boy's name is Yugi.

Yugi can't see me, and I know this because he actually gets up and walks right through me to sharpen his pencil. Yami's face settles into a look of relief at this, and I wonder why. Yugi walks through me and in so doing I detect a whiff of sadness from him. Angels can sort of sense emotions when they are in physical contact with humans, though until now I'd never experienced it. It's not an unpleasant sensation, though it is a little strange.

Wandering around the crowded halls is slightly unpleasant. People go through me so fast I can't get a real lock on which they are. All I can make out of the confused tirade of emotions coming at me is aggression, fear, depression, worry, among other things. I come to the conclusion that high school kids are confused little creatures. All around, I see other guardian angels shadowing their assignments. Some are whispering in their kid's ear and some are just walking along, keeping an eye out.

Lunch is an equally unpleasant situation as walking through the halls, except you see a little more aggression in the lines for food, so I think it's a little more unpleasant than walking through the halls. Kaiba, however, distained the lines and simply sat down at a table in the corner, got out his laptop and started doing work stuff.

All the sudden I see Yugi wandering up behind Kaiba. As I watch he shyly taps Kaiba on the shoulder and then waits, looking for all the world like a shy little kid. Kaiba turns slowly and glares at him.

"What?" He snaps. To his credit, Yugi only flinches slightly at the sound of the voice that I've seen most grown men jump a foot in the air from hearing.

"Why don't you come sit with us?" Yugi asks quietly. "We wouldn't mind."

"I don't know what sort of games you're playing, Motou, but the only time I ever want to see you is in the duelling arena, do you understand?" I feel like slapping Kaiba for the cold and condescending tone of his voice. Yugi just flinches away from it, making himself seem smaller, nods and walks away. Fury rises in me as Yugi immediately bursts into tears when he gets back to the table with his friends. There was no call for being mean! I scream before I can stop myself

"Look what you just did, you asshole!"

Seto's POV

The harsh, furious voice makes me snap my head around so fast I'm surprised I didn't just get whiplash. The scene that meets my eyes upon turning is the sight of Yugi with his head on Yami's shoulder, bawling his eyes out. And Yami, dear gods, the look that Yami shoots my way when he sees me looking tells me he's working very hard not to simply hurl me into the Shadow Realm and leave me there for an eternity or two.

Feeling numb all over I quietly pack up my things and head out of the cafeteria. I can't think with those furious red eyes boring holes in the back, or front, of my head. I have to get out and go somewhere that's not here, anywhere but here, so I simply walk out of the school and head to the office.

%&%&%&%

I arrive home later, though not as late as I usually do. Work was wonderfully numbing in that there isn't time to be thinking of anything else but it. Unfortunately though, now that I'm home and starting to feel drained once again I'm finding my thoughts returning to the sight of Yugi sobbing in the lunchroom earlier today.

I'm struggling to understand why exactly it distresses me so much. I'm not Yugi's friend, he's a rival, a damned good one, but that is it. Maybe it's the face, he's got such a baby face and that crying doesn't help matters. Or...Or, maybe, it could be that the tears were real. He wasn't faking, he was really, truly...upset.

I feel my brow crinkle in confusion as I ponder this new thought. To be truly upset, then Yugi's intentions needed to be simply to get me to sit with them, and there can't have been any ulterior motive, as I had always thought. I mean, why else would Yugi and the others want me to 'hang out' if he wasn't trying to find some other way to humiliate or drag me down, right?

A sudden sigh makes me turn around and I see Mokuba staring at me with a look of weary resignation on his face. "Seto, what did you do to Yugi?" He asks in a tone of voice that suggested that he is the older brother and not I.

"I just said some things." I attempt to shrug it off, but Mokuba's having none of it, apparently.

"Like what?" He demands, and so I tell him exactly what I said. He shakes his head wonderingly at me.

"Seto, I know you have a hard time talking to people, but don't you think that was a little harsh? Yugi's been very...sensitive since Joey...since Joey's been gone." Mokuba says the final words in a whisper and his shoulders slump. I don't even want to think of the blonde, it's too...I don't even have words for what it is.

"I just did what I would with any other brown-nosing, shifty-eyed person that tries to get close to me." Mokuba does a facepalm.

"You really, honestly believe that Yugi's trying to get dirt on you?" He says incredulously. I nod. "Seto, Yugi can't even kill spiders, you really think he's going to purposely hurt someone."

"Then why does he persist in trying to get me to do things with them?" I demand.

"Because he's trying to be nice to you. He sees you sitting there all alone, and thinks you're lonely." Mokuba explains patiently, as though I'm a small child, or slow. Truth be told the concept is taking awfully long to assimilate itself into my head. Yugi thinks I'm lonely?

"I'm not lonely." I mutter to myself, mostly.

"That's because you don't know what it's like to have friends." Mokuba insists. "I for one think it would be a great idea for you to hang out with them." I snort derisively.

"Why?"

"Because you need people that you can relax around. You're so wound up all the time, even around me because you know that people are out to hurt us. At least with Yugi and the gang you can hang out without worrying that you're going to have to protect them, or that they're after your company." I rub at my face wearily.

"Do you really, really think that?" I ask my younger, though wiser in the ways of people, brother. He nods solemnly. "Ok, I'll try. But that's all I'm promising." I head upstairs and then pause. "But what about making Yugi cry today?" Mokuba sighs.

"Apologise. I know that's not easy for you, but please do. Maybe get him a treat or something to make it up to him, just try to act like a normal human being for once." Mokuba pleads. I nod my head at him and then continue up the stairs.

It occurs to me as I shut my bedroom door that I've heard nothing from my conscience since its outburst earlier. I can feel it though, simmering angrily.

"Look, I'm sorry I yelled at him, ok?" I say quietly, not certain why I'm trying to appease the voice in my head. "I'll make it up to him." My conscience says nothing, but the simmering sensation in the back of my mind eases somewhat. I make a face as I get ready for bed.

"I really am going nutty."

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Wolf: Review plz!


	6. Chapter 6

Wolf: I own nothing!

Seto's POV

Under Mokuba's suggestion I stop by the store on the way to school and grab a chocolate bar for Yugi. I find myself feeling nervous at the thought of giving him this simple peace offering. So many doubts and thoughts run through my head. What if he doesn't accept, what if he's finally given up trying to get through to me, what if he tries to be cruel back to me for all those times I've been cruel to him?

I silently chuckle at the last thought. Yugi could never be cruel, Mokuba's right about that. So many people who were once his enemies are now his friends; and all because he's so forgiving. I mean, his best friend was a guy who used to beat him up and now...No, let's not go there, it's too soon still to be trying to think about _him_.

No, I think what makes me nervous is what Yami might do to me. I know for a fact that Yami was always very protective of Yugi, even when they shared a body, but that protectiveness has increased exponentially since they started going out. I once saw Yami punch a guy for pushing Yugi into a wall. He probably would like to shove me into the Shadow Realm for all the times I must have made Yugi cry, and honestly, that scares me.

"Any words of wisdom before I get lynched?" I whisper to my conscience in the limo ride to school. Mokuba prefers to take the bus with the other kids, apparently him and another boy trade and play Duel Monsters on the way to school.

_Just be honest._ The little voice in my head replies, slightly huffily, as though it's still not forgiven me for the other day. Isn't it a little odd that a conscience can get mad? I don't really know much about these sorts of things though, so I can't say for certain. It still feels odd to have my conscience mad at me though.

I step through the doors of the high school and head to my first class, which of course, has Yugi and Yami in it. As I walk by their desks I drop the candy bar on it. I don't have to look to see the shocked expression on Yugi's face; I can feel it on me as I sit down and begin copying out the warm-up problem, a laughably simple thing really.

As class goes on I sneak a discreet look at Yami and Yugi. Yami is glaring at the chocolate bar as though he suspects it's been poisoned or something. Yugi's looking at it too, but with a mixture of confusion and happiness. As I watch Yugi snags it and unwraps it. Yami looks like he's going to protest, but Yugi just shushes him with a kiss and takes a bite of the chocolate.

It's cruel that I have to wait until lunch to really figure out if I will be accepted into the group or not. By the time the bell rings for lunch I am a mess of nerves such as I haven't been since Gozaburo...well, for a long time anyways. Since I have such excellent control over my body though, the shaking that wants to happen does not and no one knows that I am freaking out inside my head.

_Relax._ Apparently my conscience knows I'm freaking out, and simply sends that little message to me, still slightly reproachfully. Is that really the best it can do? I possibly am about to get my ass thrown to the wolves and all it can tell me is to relax? As I stand, riveted, in the lunchroom doorway, unsure if I should actually go over there, all the sudden this feeling of warmth steals over me, banishing the fears. I don't know where it came from, but it gives me the courage I need to take that first step.

No one notices I have walked up to the table until I clear my throat. "Is the offer to sit here still standing?" I ask, trying to keep my voice even, but unable to avoid a slight tremor creeping into it. Yugi turns and looks up at me in shock, as do most of the others sitting down at the table. Yami however gives me a glare that should strike me down on the spot.

"And what would make you think that?" He asks in an acidic tone. I can't help but flinch ever so slightly at the tone of voice. Yugi puts a hand over Yami's though, and gives me a gentle smile.

"Of course the offer is still open, Kaiba, come sit." He says kindly, and shifts on the bench to make room for me. I sit down gingerly, conscious of all the eyes on me around the table, most confused, and one still angry.

"What's this all about Kaiba?" Bakura asks. "What made you finally decide to mingle with us mere mortals?" I snort at his mocking tone. He gives me the finger in return, crazy tomb robber.

"Let's just say I got some...sense talked into me." A quiet chuckle, that only I can hear, echoes in my ear and a feeling of satisfaction wafts over me. It appears that my conscience is now pleased that I have made it up to Yugi. Now however, I have no idea what to do. I take out my laptop and begin working.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Tristan asks with a tone of incredulity in his voice. I raise an eyebrow at him.

"Work." I say simply.

"Really, you're working during school?" Tea asks, absentmindedly twirling a lock of hair in her fingertips as she stares at me.

"I have a lot to do, it's not easy running a company, you know." I reply huffily.

"No, we don't know." Yugi responds gently. "But I imagine it gets very stressful." He gives me a sympathetic smile.

"Not if you have the right mind for it." I retort.

"And the right attitude." Yami mumbles before taking a sip of the pop he's holding and slinging one arm around his boyfriend. Yugi leans into the casual embrace and a slight pang of loneliness goes through me. I'm never going to find anything as good as they've got. The only people that want to go out with me are out for my money or my power, and I will not be used that way. So, I will be content with loneliness.

"Kaiba, are you ok?" Yugi's light, concerned voice drags me from my thoughts and I find him staring up at me, a worried look on his childish face.

"I'm fine." I lie. It's easy to lie, I've done it so many times, it's like second nature to me. I've lied to everyone around me at least once, even Mokuba, and sometimes I even lie to myself. So it's no surprise that Yugi nods his assent, but it is surprising that his eyes still remain worried.

"Ok, if you're sure." He says quietly and pats my arm awkwardly. And that's it. I'm now a part of the table, just like that.

Angel's POV

Man, I've never done that before, a Touch. That's when you let your human feel you there, in order to make them feel safe, or happy, or sure of themselves. In order to do it I had to stick my arm into Kaiba's chest, right where his heart is, or at least, should be, and think happy thoughts. Seriously, think happy thoughts, sounds like something a shrink would say, but it worked.

As Kaiba sits down Yami notices me, and gives me a raised eyebrow. I nod a hello at him. His other eyebrow raises as Kaiba says someone 'talked some sense into him' and smirks at me. I give him a cocky smirk back, telling him yeah, that I was the voice of reason. I really wish I was allowed to talk to this guy, he seems really neat.

As Yami puts an arm around Yugi I wander over to Kaiba's front and stop dead in shock. The expression on his face...it...it's unbelievable. Kaiba's face shows a mixture of stark longing and aching loneliness as he stares at Yugi and Yami. It's the expression of a shipwrecked man that sees land, but knows that he's never going to get to it, but he can't stop wishing for it.

It's the most vulnerable I've ever seen him and in that moment I feel a pang for this mighty, but lonely man. How it must feel for him every day, to know he's not like other people and has to worry about if people are going to stab him in the back when they're talking to him, trying to be his friends. I realize now that I must be looking after one of the loneliest men in the world...and it just breaks my heart.

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Wolf: Review plz!


	7. Chapter 7

Wolf: I own nothing

Seto's POV

It wasn't horrible, sitting with Yugi and the others day after day. The mindless chatter provides a strangely soothing counterpart to the tapping of the keys on my laptop. Every once in awhile I add a comment or two to what they say, but for the most part I am simply a silent presence at the table. This day however, Tea decides to ask me a question.

"How come you never eat lunch?" I look up from my work and frown at her.

"Why is that important?" I ask, trying my best to keep my usual sneer out of my voice. Tea takes a deep breath and begins rattling off health class lessons about proper nutrition and portioning. How she remembers this, which has to be from middle school, is beyond me.

"So, you see?" She asks when she's done her little tirade.

"I see, but what I don't see is how you remember something like that." I reply evenly.

"I'm a dancer, I need to know about nutrition and stuff like that." She says with a sniff. "So how come you don't eat?"

"I'm not hungry, and the slop they serve in this cafeteria is certainly not appealing." I snort, jerking my head at the lunch ladies serving said slop.

"It's not that bad." Tristan protests while shoving a handful of greasy, limp fries in his mouth.

"That's because you've never had real good food." I tell him.

"Well, not all of us can afford that fancy stuff Kaiba." Yugi sighs. "We have to make do with what we can afford." His tone is mild, but I wonder if he's hiding something.

"Is the shop having financial troubles?" I ask, not sure where this concern is coming from. Perhaps my conscience is behind it. Yugi blinks at me and shrugs.

"No more than it's ever had." He replies. "Actually, since Yami and I have jobs we've got a little more money in the house, though grandpa makes us put most of our pay checks towards our education."

I stop myself from saying something like 'if you ever need help...' I know for a fact that Yugi's grandfather is a very dignified man, and it's likely that he would find the offer of money insulting. I know I would. Hopefully, if they do run into serious trouble, they won't be too proud to take charity from me or someone else then.

"Kaiba, just because we don't have enough money to have a fleet of limos at our beck and call doesn't mean we're deprived." Tristan intones seriously. "I mean, I just got myself my own apartment. It's tiny and kind of a dump, but it's _mine_, and that makes it the greatest thing in the world, you know what I mean?"

I remember the first time I saw my room in the mansion when Gozaburo brought us there, it was mine and I was proud of it. That is probably one of the only happy memories I have of my time having to live with that bastard.

"You're lucky Kaiba." Tea says, bringing me out of my dark thoughts. "There are so many things you don't have to worry about."

"And so many different things I do." I retort, though not unkindly. "At least you people don't have to worry so much about kidnapping plots."

They all look at me, and I remember exactly what's been going on the last little while since Yami first showed up. "Never mind." I grunt. Yami gives me a thoughtful look.

"I think we ought to teach you how to use your Shadow powers." He says quietly.

"Why?" I ask.

"For one thing it may help in kidnapping and assassination attempts." He says wryly, raising an eyebrow at me. "Think about it, you don't need a weapon to use them and you can summon the power with your mind, plus scare the hell out of anyone trying to do something to you."

"True." I admit reluctantly. "But when are you planning to teach me this? I am a busy man."

"Not too busy to take time out to have a Duel Monster competition in the middle of the city." He chuckles with an amused gleam in his ruby eyes. I open my mouth, prepared to say that was different, and then shut it again. It's not really that different, in fact, this is more important, and therefore a better excuse for missing work than the Duel Monsters were...I can't believe I just admitted that.

The bell rings and everyone moves to pack up. "I'll give you my cell number and we'll figure out timing later on." I say hurriedly. Yami takes out a notebook and has me write down the number before snapping it shut and sauntering off to class. Like me he moves quickly, but always with a kind of you-can't-touch-this swagger. I shake my head and head to my own classes.

Angel's POV

Aww, it's actually really cute to see Seto interacting like that with those kids. He's actually acting like a normal human teenager for once. I'm a little confused as to what Shadow powers are, but I suppose I'll find out soon enough if Seto's going to be training with Yami.

I'm walking behind him when I stop suddenly as though I just came up against a brick wall. I just realized that I've started calling Kaiba, Seto! I then yelp, realizing that I've lost him yet again and hurry to catch up. I suppose it's not a bad thing starting to call him by his first name, I mean, I know he's not as big of a jerk as I thought, right?

I find myself staring at his face as I follow him around to his classes and then to work. He's got a really pretty face, I notice now. He normally doesn't show much emotion, but he gets really cute when he's confused, and his whole face lights up when he talks to Mokuba, even over the phone. Seto Kaiba, I see now, is actually really, really good looking.

When this thought occurs to me I reel back, face heating up. I cannot be having the hots for my assignment, no way. That just doesn't happen, does it? But I can't deny it, I think that Seto Kaiba is attractive, and I...really, really want to kiss him.

I agonize over these thoughts as he goes home, extremely late tonight. Once again I drift up to the roof as he gets ready for bed. This time though, when he turns out the light, I drift back down, into his bedroom. I feel a little stalker-ish at the moment, standing over his bed, but that's what I'm supposed to do, right?

He sleeps on his back, head to one side so I'm viewing his face in profile. His lips are slightly parted as he breathes softly in and out, already out cold. He looks really vulnerable right now, all the hardness in his face that is there during the day has melted away and he looks strangely like a small child. My heart squeezes and I reach out to caress his cheek.

My hand simply goes through it and he jerks slightly, a soft murmur escaping his lips. I want so bad to be able to just touch him, but I can't even do that. Until I think of another little guardian angel trick that I know of. Going very still I reach out for his mind with mine and immerse myself in him.

Seto's POV

It's dark, really dark. I lift my hand to my face, but I can't even see it. I can feel the sheets over top of me, but I can't see them, nor can I see the bed beneath me. I come to the conclusion after a moment that I am dreaming.

"Why can't I see?" I ask aloud in the darkness.

"Because if you could, I wouldn't be able to be doing this." A voice murmurs somewhere close to me, and I jump, because it sounds just like my conscience. I feel a weight press down on the bed and sit up abruptly, scooting backwards. My heart pounds, this feels too much like too many nights from when Gozaburo was still around.

"Hey, it's alright, Seto." The voice says soothingly, and suddenly there's a hand on my cheek, caressing gently with calloused fingers. "I'm not going to hurt you." Slowly I relax as those fingers caress my cheek, it doesn't feel like whoever this person is will hurt me, and anyways, this is a dream, right?

All the sudden the fingers stroking my cheek move down to my chin and gently grasp it. A gasp escapes my lips and the voice shushes me gently. I feel the person shift his weight on the bed momentarily before soft, warm lips close chastely over my own.

I freeze, but the lips are so inviting, so warm that I almost instantly relax into it, closing my eyes, though it's dark either way. All too soon the lips are gone. The hand comes back to stroke my cheek once more before the voice says, fading slightly

"Goodnight Seto."

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Wolf: Review plz!


	8. Chapter 8

Wolf: I own nothing!

Angel's POV

That kiss...just wow. I've never felt anything like that, which isn't saying much, but still. It was warm and soft and just felt so right. The taste from Seto's lips is like coffee, bitter with a hint of sweet, rich and addicting. I have no idea how I know how coffee tastes, but it could be something I pulled out of Seto's head. The only thing I really know for certain right now is that I will be kissing him again.

Seto begins to stir and utters a low, peaceful sigh that's too cute for words because it sounds like the kind of sound a contented puppy would make when he's sleeping. Though Seto's too dignified to be a dog, a cat maybe, all aloof and proud, he'd make a good cat for sure. He reaches one hand up to rub at his face before opening bleary blue eyes.

"Good morning gorgeous." I whisper, not loud enough for him to here, as he sits up and stretches. He blinks rapidly a couple of times, clearing his vision I suppose, and heads for the attached bathroom. I drift up into the ceiling and onto the roof, giving him his privacy. I guess I'm really just embarrassed to see him naked.

It's a working day, so Seto heads to the office, with me as his unknown companion of course. He seems a little more relaxed today, normally he sits all rigid and regal in the back seat of the limo, but today he's kind of slumped down in the seat a little. His face doesn't look so stone-like either, there's no expression, but it doesn't look like you could break a chisel on it anymore either.

I'm willing to bet that it's the kiss that's done it. I mean, I feel all warm and fuzzy, so why shouldn't he? He's already proven that he is capable of emotion, and judging by his reaction to my kiss last night he felt it was good as well.

As Seto and I get into the elevator, so does Nikita. I'm still confused as to how she knew I was there, but I'll go with it, because I think she's cool. "Good morning Kaiba." She says cheerily.

"Good morning Nikita." Seto's voice is slightly vague. Nikita looks at him, immediately noticing the difference from his usual tone.

"Did you get laid last night or something?" Seto's head whips around and he just stares at her. "Seriously, you sound like you've had a night of really good sex."

"I did not." Seto replies, the haughtiness back in his voice. "And what would you know about that?" Nikita raises an eyebrow at him.

"I had a partner for the better part of eight years." She replies, somewhat tightly and then walks out of the elevator.

Seto's POV

I've stepped on a raw nerve with Nikita, I can see that. I was simply trying to point out that in all the time I've known her she's never mentioned any of that sort of thing at all. But, then again, why would she even?

_You know, going after her would be a nice thing._ My conscience states this with the same level of resigned exasperation as always, but this time, the sound of it sends a shiver down my spine, and not in a good way. Great, I think I officially am the first person to have 'the hots' for my conscience. I do, however, take his advice and send the elevator back down to look for Nikita.

I find her in her office, pounding on her poor keyboard. "So, I seemed to have hit on a sensitive topic just now." I say. She just looks at me. "It may be wise that I understand the story behind this, so that I don't inadvertently cross the line again." A slow smirk crosses her face.

"Only you could make asking if I'm alright sound like a business proposal." She chuckles, shaking her head. "But, I will tell you." She pauses for a second, biting her lip slightly. "I was in a relationship, once, just once. She was a beautiful, sweet girl. Her name was Haruhi. I loved her very much and we were together for eight years."

"What happened?" I ask, thinking I already know. She smiles sadly.

"She died. It was a car accident, the other driver was drunk. She died instantly, so she wasn't in pain. Thank the gods for small mercies, right?" She sniffles slightly. "It's been almost two years since that night."

"I'm sorry." There's really nothing else I can say but that. She shakes her head.

"Nothing for you to be sorry for, you didn't hit her." She replies brusquely. "Besides, I had her eight years more than I thought I would." She continues with a tender smile. I open my mouth to ask what she means, but she shoots me a stern look. "And that is something I am not going to tell you about. Girl's got to have her secrets, you hear me?"

"I hear you." I reply humbly and then beat a hasty retreat.

Later, I am contemplating her words. It never occurred to me that Nikita had secrets, but I suppose everyone does. I know I do, and if Nikita's secret is anything like mine, it's a real doozie, and probably something she doesn't want made public.

I sigh as I head inside my house. My first thing to do is to go upstairs and check up on Mokuba. He's fast asleep in his bed, the covers pushed down to his feet as usual. I pull the covers back up and kiss him gently on the forehead. He mumbles and nuzzles at his pillow in his sleep, but does not wake. I smile slightly and head to my own room.

Getting ready for bed is a routine I've done so many times I don't even realize it, so before I know it I'm under the covers of my own bed and switching off the light. I stare at the dark ceiling for a few minutes, letting my mind quiet down before I close my eyes and surrender to sleep.

Darkness, again. I sit up, but it makes no difference because the darkness persists. I reach a hand over, thinking I'll be able to find the lamp beside my bed, but my hand only encounters the wood of the nightstand, no lamp.

"You really think I'm going to leave something that will shed light on me?" The voice asks a moment before weight presses down on the bed. Once again I sit up, scooting back so my back rests against the headboard, and for good measure I twist my legs together. "Really, Seto, you need to learn to relax." The voice is amused and all the sudden I feel a hand on my thigh.

I jerk and suck in a sharp breath. Immediately the hand is gone. "Don't touch me." I snarl, hoping to whatever gods are out there that my voice doesn't shake.

"I'm not going to hurt you." The voice says to me seriously. "I would never hurt you, I can't. I also won't do anything that makes you uncomfortable." He puts his hand on my chest instead. I hate myself for cringing away from that touch.

"Stop it." My voice is shaking now. He pulls his hand away.

"Geez, what happened to you Seto?" The voice is soft, cajoling. "Who hurt you?"

"None of your damned business." I snarl, punching out with both arms to see if I can get him away from me. My fists connect with nothing, but I hear him inhale sharply.

"Okay, I won't ask again then." He says quietly. "Can I touch you here?" He asks and I feel a warm hand against my face. I jump at the suddenness of it, but make no other moves. The hand feels nice against my face, especially since he keeps rubbing his thumb against my cheek in a soothing manner.

"Who are you?" I ask after a moment. He chuckles slightly.

"If I told you that, I couldn't see you like this anymore." He replies. "Unless, of course, you want me to go away." I shake my head, then realize he probably can't see it in this darkness. "I hoped you wouldn't." He replies instead.

"Can you see me?" I ask.

"Yes."

"Not fair." He laughs again, and the slightly husky sound sends a pleasant tingle down my spine.

"If you could see me-"

"I know I know, we wouldn't be able to do this." I grouse. He chuckles and I feel him lean close, his sweet breath tickling my face.

"Or this." He whispers, and closes his lips over mine. My whole body turns to mush and I can't think. His lips taste sweet, like a mixture of chocolate and cinnamon. Reaching out, I find his shoulders and grasp them, pulling him closer to me. He responds by gently nibbling at my bottom lip and moving his to wrapping them around my waist.

Reality comes crashing back and I push him forcefully. I hear him grunt slightly and his weight moves off the bed. I draw my knees up to my chest and ball my fists, prepared for an attack. Instead, a wistful sigh reaches my ears.

"I guess that's as far as we can go for now." His hand comes back to lightly stroke my hair. "Your hair is really soft, you know that." I tense at his touch, but he simply rests his hand there. "Remember Seto, I'll never hurt you. Now, go back to sleep."

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Wolf: Review plz!


	9. Chapter 9

Wolf: I own nothing!

Seto's POV

The morning sun creeping over my face wakes me up. I sit up, startled because I normally am up way before the sun. My lips tingle slightly and I touch them, feeling strangely disconnected from my body as I recall my second dream with the same person. Perhaps that's the reason I slept so long, is because of the dream. Normally my dreams wake me up, because they are always nightmares, but this one...wasn't.

I'm not sure what to classify these dreams as. I'm aware of what's going on, and yet I have no control as is the case with those types of dreams most of the time. The other thing is the fact that my dream...guy seems to be the one in control, which makes me question the reality of it all. I've seen Inception and I have to say, this feels a lot like that.

My eyes close as I think deeper into the dream, particularly, my guy. He is a guy, that much I can tell from his voice, that and that he is fairly young. His hand, I recall now, was calloused, like he was a working man. When I pushed him away, I felt that his chest was muscled, hard, like he worked out, or just worked hard. I put my face in my hands as I realize that I'm analyzing what is likely a figment of my imagination.

And yet...I can't help but feel a sense of longing for those hands so gently caressing my face, and for those soft lips so lovingly kissing mine. No one had ever been like that with me, ever. Not that I allowed anyone close enough, not after what Gozaburo did to me, what me made me into. I'm too dirty for anyone to even want me that way. I'm going to have to tell him that the next time, and I know there will be a next time.

I'm still contemplating this when the cell phone in my discarded coat on the floor starts to ring. I struggle out of bed, nearly fall on my ass again before staggering over to my haphazardly thrown clothing and manage to dig my phone out of my pocket.

"Yes?" I snap into the phone.

"Did I wake you up?" Yami's surprised, amused voice greets me. I groan and sit down, back against my bed.

"What do you want, Yami?" I sigh, rubbing my eyes to clear them a little better. I hear him snort.

"You told me to call you to set up time to help you learn to control your Shadow Powers, remember?" He says patiently. "I figure that the weekend would be a good time to try you, no school after all."

"I do work." I remind him. He snorts again.

"You are there all the time and are working even when you're at school." He oh so kindly informs me, as if I'm not aware of what I do already. "You can afford to take a few hours. If they desperately need you, they'll call you, won't they?"

"Yes." I admit reluctantly.

"Excellent. There's an old warehouse by the docks that we've been using for training, meet us there in say...an hour?"

"Fine." I growl. He chuckles at me and then hangs up.

_You're actually going to do something that's not work related? Amazing! _My mental voice is being sarcastic, but I can swear I hear affection in it. I shake my head and then prepare myself for the day. Since I don't know if I'm going to wind up doing something that could potentially destroy my clothing I simply pull on a purple button-up shirt and a pair of black slacks.

It occurs to me as I get in one of my many cars that Yami did not tell me which warehouse they are in. I sigh and pull out my cell phone, pressing redial. "It would help if I knew which warehouse you were in." I say immediately as Yami picks up. He laughs and then informs me that Bakura will be waiting for me when I get there.

Lo and behold the klepto is actually waiting when I get there. "Took your sweet time, didn't you?" he grouses as I let myself out of my car. "Nice ride." He comments.

"Don't even think about it, or else." I warn. He snorts.

"I'm more scared of what my hikari would do if I did, than what you would do." I raise my eyebrow at him.

"You're scared of Ryou?" I ask, just to make sure I heard right, because Ryou isn't exactly one to inspire fear, especially in someone like Bakura.

"It's always the innocent ones you gotta look out for." Bakura tells me seriously and then ambles off, seemingly assured that I will follow him. I groan and do as he expects, following him through the warren of warehouses and storage units. Some of the buildings are seriously dilapidated and it's clear that there's not been much traffic around this sector of the docks, making it a perfect area for learning how to use powers that rightly should not exist.

"About time." Yami greets me as I step into the dimly lit interior of one of the less ruined warehouses.

"Well, let's get this over with." I sigh, looking at him expectantly.

"The easiest thing to learn will be to summon your monster." Yami explains, his voice ringing off the walls. "So that is what we are going to attempt to do."

"Attempt?" I repeat.

"You have to believe in this for it to work." Yami sighs. "That's not something that comes easy to you." I snort, but he's right; it's taken months and endless plots against the world and whatnot to convince me of the existence of these powers, and still I am sceptical about the validity of the assumption that I possess them.

"Come on Seto." Yugi coaxed softly. "Wouldn't you like to be able to meet a Blue-Eyes?"

That clinches it. I do want to meet my Blue-Eyes. "What do I do?" I ask Yami. He shrugs his shoulders.

"Call them." He says simply.

"Pardon?"

"Use your mind, call out your creatures." He says again, leaning against a wall and closing his eyes. "You have the power to do it, just believe you can."

I give him a look, but close my eyes and inhale deeply. One of my previous therapists taught me how to meditate and so I put myself into a mild trance by taking the deep breaths and calming my heart rate like I've been taught. I do this because it seems like it would help if I am calm and focused and it may help me find whatever inside me allows me to summon the Blue-Eyes.

I sink into the pool of my own mind. Dimly I hear Bakura saying something, and then Yami shutting him up. I ignore it, because something in the depths of my mind is making itself known to me. In another instant I can 'see' it clearly; a pool of dark, shifting magic at the core of my being. I reach out mentally and the magic flows to the surface.

'_Blue-Eyes, come to me.'_ I call out mentally with the help of the magic. Nothing happens as far as I can tell for the first couple of seconds and then there is an almighty BANG! Hearing a yelp of surprise I open my eyes to find not one, not two, but three massive Blue-Eyes White Dragons eying me almost disdainfully. One of them opens its mouth.

"**You called?"** It's voice is huge, booming, and surprisingly, female.

"You're...a girl?" My voice comes out as an embarrassing squeak. All three Blue-Eyes snort.

"**You didn't think that we could be?"** Another of the Blue-Eyes asked. **"Just because we're big and powerful doesn't mean we can't be feminine."**

"**Yeah, besides," **The third adds. **"Female dragons are typically more powerful." **

"I see." Yami comes up to murmur in my ear.

"It would be polite to ask their names." He says. I nod, looking up at the three seemingly impatient dragons.

"What are your names?"

"**I am Shira." **The smallest says.

"**Aoi." **The middle-sized dragon introduces herself with a bob of her head.

"**And I am Kisara." **The largest, and apparently the oldest says with a spread of her wings and a dip of her head that seemed to be some form of dragon bow.

"Kisara? As in the woman from the past?" I ask in surprise.

"**Yes, I kept my human name." **Kisara admits. **"But you should have known that I would be one of your dragons." **

"More Egyptian nonsense." I grumble. "I am not some Egyptian priest from thousands of years ago."

"**Perhaps you are, perhaps not." **Kisara shrugs her shoulders, which lifts her mighty wings. **"Now, do you have need of us?"**

"**If not we would like to get back to our mate." **Shira adds.

"Mate?" I repeat.

"**Yes, his name is Akai."** Aoi explains. **"I believe you know him as a Red-Eyes Black Dragon."**

"Really?" I ask incredulously. The Red-Eyes is so much weaker than a Blue-Eyes, why would they choose a dragon like that? As if sensing my thoughts, Kisara eyes me once again.

"**He's a very polite and sweet individual, and right now he's having a hard time."**

"Why?" Shira snorts.

"**Well he just lost his human." **

"Who?" Aoi lets out an exasperated sigh and rolls her big eyes.

"**Honestly, you call yourself a genius. You should know who Akai's human is." **I frown and then it dawns on me.

"Joey." I whisper, feeling a dull ache inside. Kisara nods.

"**Joey used to talk to Akai all the time. They were very close. Losing him has been hard, so may we please go and make sure our mate isn't trying to drown himself in his grief or something?" **

"Oh, of course." I say. The three of them bow and then disappear with a bang of displaced air. I turn to the surprised teens standing behind me. "Well, that was...informative."

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Wolf: The names of the dragons are names I got from Reizbar-Ookami's stories. I don't know if they are originally hers, but to be sure I give all credit for the names to her, and I suggest reading her stories, they are very, very good. That's all except...review!


	10. Chapter 10

Wolf: I own nothing!

Seto's POV

I can hardly get through the rest of my day without feeling like I'm on the biggest caffeine buzz in existence, that's how excited I am about having met my Blue-Eyes. Truth be told, I wasn't expecting them to be female, but then again I wasn't expecting to meet them at all. All I really want to do is do a very embarrassing victory dance, but since I'm at work, I have to maintain appearances. I can dance in the privacy of my own room.

Work is painful to get through because I'm feeling so full of life that I don't want to deal with the cruel, petty backstabbing world of business, but I must. So, I slog through the day, and when I get home, of course I'm immediately beset by Mokuba.

"?" It takes me a moment to realize what Mokuba's saying, and then I smile at him.

"Easily one of the best experiences of my life." I reply. "They're girls, and they're all mated to the Red-Eyes."

"Yeah, I think Joey mentioned that...once." Mokuba sighs sadly and his shoulders slump. It suddenly occurs to me that spending as much time with Yugi and his friends for the last little while means that Mokuba was friends with Joey. I'd never thought of that, not even after...what happened, but I remember now that Mokuba shut himself in his room for days, refusing to come out.

Gently I draw my brother into a warm hug. "You miss him a lot, don't you?" I feel him nod against my chest. "Wherever he is, I'm sure that he's just fine." I clumsily try to assure Mokuba, but truth be told, I really don't know how to say anything that would make him feel better. Really, is there any way to do that, for anyone? "Why don't I make you some hot chocolate?"

That perks him up some immediately. I can't cook to save my life in the case of most things, but I can make good hot chocolate. The secret is a hint of cinnamon and vanilla mixed in with the hot chocolate and a dash of milk to keep it from burning your mouth. Mokuba loves it, and it almost always has the effect of calming him down and making him sleepy enough that it's easy to get him to bed or his mind of something bothering him.

Tonight is no different. As soon as Mokuba finishes the hot chocolate he's yawning and up the stairs to bed. I tuck him into bed and then head for my own room, though I'm still buzzing in excitement. I have to sleep though and so I go through the motions of getting ready for bed, hoping that it will help settle me some. Even so, it's a long while before my mind shuts itself down and I slide into dark sleep...

...And wake up once again in my dark dream. "That was something today." The voice murmurs to me. I feel his weight settle on my bed and I shift away from him as best I can without really knowing where he is. "Those dragons coming out of nowhere, just fantastic!"

"You...you saw that?"

"I see everything, Seto." I tense.

"Are you stalking me?" I hear a patient sigh.

"I look out for you, it's my job." He says. "That means I'm always around, always."

So, he is my conscience, or something like my conscience. There's another name for it, I know that, but I can't remember, and this train of thought is soon forgotten as a warm hand gently touches my knee. The touch is barely there, but I still jerk away from it.

"I'm sorry, I forgot." And the funny thing is, he really does sound sorry. The hand that was on my knee now cups my face. I feel him lean in close, and though I want desperately for him to kiss me I push him away.

"Wait, you don't want me." I say.

"What are you talking about, why would I not want you?" His voice is confused. I swallow past a huge lump in my throat.

"I'm dirty, used, you don't want someone like that." I draw my knees up to my chest, curling myself up protectively, fighting back tears. The hand doesn't leave my face, instead it begins stroking my cheek gently.

"Why do you say that? Who told you that?" He asks me, surprise in his voice.

"I don't need anyone to tell me, I just know it." I hear a soft huffing noise from him.

"Let me tell you what I know about you." He says. "You are sweet to your brother, and fair to your employees. You're sometimes slow to realize things, but you have good intentions, and a good heart." His voice goes soft and strange. I honestly can't say I've heard anyone speak to me in that tone of voice. It makes me want to turn into a puddle of goo in his arms; it makes all the bad things seem so... insignificant.

"But you don't know the other things, the bad things." I protest faintly.

"Then tell me." His voice pleads with me. "Tell me and I can decide for myself whether or not you're too... _dirty._"

I can't though. I can't tell him, because then he will want nothing to do with me, and I can't bear to have him leave me forever, I can't bear to let go of these moments. These are the moments that make me feel, for once in my life that I am beautiful, and lovable. How can I do anything to let go of that? But how can I go on lying to him? I'm so conflicted, like I've never been before. He's waiting for me to say something, I know it, but I do not know what to say.

"You should go." are the words that finally tumble from my mouth, a sob at the end of them.

"Do you really want that?" he asks me in a whisper. "Because if you do, then I will, but do you really want that?" Another sob escapes my throat.

"No, I don't want you to leave, please don't leave." I'm ashamed to find that I am begging, and crying too. Tears slide down my cheeks and I make no protest as he slides his arms around me, pulling me into an embrace with one hand around my waist and the other running through my hair, pressing my head to his chest.

"I would never voluntarily leave you, and I would fight to the ends of the earth to get back to you. The only way you could get me to leave you willingly is if you yourself asked me. And I will never hurt you, only watch over you the best I can." His voice is soothing, tender. He rocks me gently in his arms as I bring one hand up to clutch at the soft material covering his shoulder.

He doesn't call me a wimp for crying, he doesn't slap me and tell me to grow up for leaning on him and sobbing like a small child. What he does is he holds me tenderly, trying to soothe my seemingly unending tears away. As my sobs begin to die away into soft sniffles a pair of soft, warm lips press gently against my forehead and soft half-heard words are murmured against my skin, warming it.

Slowly, tentatively, I move the hand clutching his shoulder and drift it along until I meet his neck. He doesn't protest and, emboldened, I trail my fingers across his throat, feeling him swallow slightly, whether in nervousness or something else I do not know. My hand travels upward, encountering a strong jaw and the soft skin of his face.

His lips part slightly as my fingers dance across their full softness. I rest them there, feeling his soft breath tickling my palm. My hand travels further up, encountering a nose that feels somewhat crooked. Was he in a fight? I don't ask, afraid to lose this moment. Rising further I feel his eyes close as I brush my fingers over them. His lashes are long, but that is all I can tell. My hand ascends higher and I thread my fingers through messy, thick hair.

I comb my fingers through the mop of hair, hearing the owner of the mess of locks sigh in contentment. "Oh Seto, what you do to me." He says wonderingly. His words send an irresistible thrill through me. Lifting my other hand I trace his lips again, delighting in the soft sigh that escapes them. Leaning in close I brush my lips against his.

He groans against my mouth and his arm tightens around my waist. Spurred on by the sound I press our lips together more firmly. He allows me control over the kiss for a moment before he nips gently on my bottom lip. I gasp, and his tongue darts into my mouth. It's my turn to groan as he explores my mouth, encouraging me to do the same.

The moment is shattered when he slips his hand down to my hip and I can't help but tense up. He pulls away and takes his hand off. "It's alright, see?" He murmurs, still so close I can feel his hot breath against my lips. "I guess that's as far as we can take it for now, but remember," He kisses the tip of my nose. "I'll never hurt you Seto."

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Wolf: Review plz!


	11. Chapter 11

Wolf: I own nothing!

Seto's POV

_I'll never hurt you, Seto._ My dream partner's soft, reassuring words echo through my head as I come to full wakefulness. They fill me with a kind of warmth that I've never known, or if I had, I no longer remember it. This warmth makes the rest of the world fall away, and all the strife, all the pain of my life seem insignificant.

But I cannot forget what was done to me, what I allowed to be done to me. I cannot ignore the fact that I do not deserve the attentions, or the affections, of even a man who is only a part of my dreams. He feels too real to me, and I can't...I can't take the chance of him going back on what he's said and hurt me. I know from experience never to allow anyone that close.

And yet...the doubts still plague me. He always seemed so sincere, and he's always backed off when he sees that I'm uncomfortable, or getting scared. The way he held me in his arms, like I was something precious, something to be protected and treasured and the way he spoke to me, in that tone of voice... it was unlike anything I have ever experienced.

Then again, my traitor mind reminds me, he could only be trying to get me to trust him so that he could do something bad to me. He wouldn't be the first person in my life. Even Gozaburo was kind and outwardly affectionate at first, until he had me trapped with nowhere to go, then he took what he wanted from me, horribly, painfully.

I shut my eyes, trying to block those memories, and the headache starting to pound in my temples. I try to separate people into categories; allies or enemies, family and not, that sort of thing. I've contemplated adding the category of friends, for Yugi and them, but I don't know how to classify my dream man. I can't tell his intentions, and I don't know if he will prove to be friend or foe. It seems only time will tell, but am I willing to go down that road at all?

Shaking my head slightly, I get out of the bed, heading to the bathroom to get ready for the day. It's school today, so I pull on my uniform and grab my school books. For good measure I pop a couple of aspirin, dry-swallowing them easily, in order to quell the still throbbing pain in my head. Sometimes, I think I think too much.

%&%&%&%

"I have to say, I am most impressed with how well you did the other day." Yami says as I sit down in the lunchroom.

"Speak for yourself pharaoh," Bakura grumbles. "I had a bet that he wouldn't be able to summon so much as one of those dinky little Kuribohs, but he goes and gets all three of the Blue-Eyes to show? Damn." Ryou elbows him in the side.

"Be nice, Kura." The small, doe-eyed boy chides. "Can't you be happy that Kaiba did so wonderfully?"

"Do I look like a happiness and rainbows type guy?" Bakura asks, but he snuggles his boyfriend close, making the smaller giggle a little. I'm not really surprised by the outward showing of affection in the school. Though there are some low-lives that would make 'out' couples, like those in this group, lives' miserable, they do not dare for fear of what Bakura, or even Yami, would do to them.

"Seto, I have a question." Yugi pipes up. I raise an eyebrow at him and he continues. "How come you go to school? I mean, you run a company, why don't you just, you know, not bother?"

I sigh and close my laptop, turning to face him completely. "The reason for that is really very simple, Yugi. I want to finish my education. After high school I will go on to get a university degree."

"But, why?" Tea persists. "You already have so much going on with your company, why add to that the stress of school?"

"There are still some businessmen out there that think that they don't have to show me respect because I do not have a degree."

"Why do I get the feeling that they are quickly shown the error of their ways?" Yami mumbles. I smirk at him.

"You would be correct, but it is a hassle all the same. One that I can remedy by getting a degree and proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am capable of running a company."

"So it's more of a convenience thing?" Tristan asks through a mouthful of hamburger. I nod, wrinkling my nose in distaste at his poor eating habits. Seemingly Tea is as well, because she reaches over to give him a smack over the head, scolding him.

"We were thinking that we could start you with some of the trickier Shadow tricks sometime this week, Seto, if you're up for it?"

Angel's POV

Seto's still really wary of me, even after repeated assurances, and stalled advances, even though I want to touch him so bad. He recoils when I get too intimate though, and I don't want to scare him away from me completely. We had a bit of a breakthrough last night, but again he still tensed when he felt things were going too far.

There's something going on with him that goes deeper than all the business tactics, and the aloofness, something really bad that happened to him, maybe a long time ago now. Whatever that something is, if Seto has any chance at all of trusting me, he's going to have to tell me what it is. I know I'm not going to like what he has to say, I feel it in my gut, but I would not turn my back on him, as he believes I will.

He's doing well with the Shadow Powers stuff. Right now he's learning to create a shield out of the magic. It's neat looking, all shadowy black and purple and blue, and it doesn't look substantial at first, but it repels anything that strikes it with ease. Yami explained to Seto that he shouldn't let too many things hit it, because the energy for the shield comes from him and he can burn himself out using too much power.

"Could have used this a long time ago." Seto suddenly mumbles, not loud enough for anyone to hear, or so he thinks. I watch Yami wince at the raw pain and anger in his voice. Yami's eyes find mine and he raises an eyebrow at me. I shrug my shoulders, feeling my brows pull together in confusion and worry. The same expression crosses Yami's face for an instant before flitting away just as quick. Now I know Seto's been hurt by someone, someone he couldn't fight.

I realize that I don't know enough about Seto's past, and there's not really anyone that can tell me, unless I go find his old guardian angel in the afterlife, and that's not going to happen. I really wonder what it was that got his original guardian angel to quit. In the beginning I thought it was because he was an asshole, but now I'm wondering if it had something to do with whatever happened to Seto. Maybe the old guardian angel couldn't handle it anymore and just lit out.

I'm not going to be scared away though, no matter what happened to Seto, I'm going to stay with him until he breathes his last breath. I'm emotionally invested, far more than any other angel I've ever met, and I just can't fathom the thought of leaving him in someone else's hands. Nobody else knows him like me and no one else can get through to him like me... Great, I'm getting jealous.

Would anyone else be able to see what I've seen? Angels aren't gods, we aren't perfect, and even the gods screw up sometimes. It's possible that someone else would think he was just as much of an asshole as I thought he was in the beginning. Would they be able to know when they need to whisper in his ear, and when to yell?

Funny, a few weeks ago I would have jumped at the chance to leave him, go back to the afterlife, and now... they'd have to bring me back there in chains if Seto was still alive. They haven't reprimanded me yet on going into his dreams and kissing him and stuff. I wonder if Mike just thinks it's good that I'm taking an interest, or if they know what happened to Seto, and they think that what I'm doing could help with the mental damage he so obviously has contracted from that.

Either way, I'm glad they're not butting in. Seto's opening up to me, little by little, and it's showing in his everyday life. He's a bit more patient, a little more open with Yugi and his friends, and all around somewhat more relaxed.

I'm so caught up in my thoughts that I haven't realized that I've managed to follow Seto back home and into his room until I'm right in front of him, watching him undress himself. I start to blush, backing away as he takes off his shirt.

And then I pause, stopping halfway through the wall, staring. There's something on his skin, beneath the shirt. I can't quite tell what it is, but if he took the shirt completely off...oh. Gods above and below.

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Wolf: Review plz!


	12. Chapter 12

Wolf: I own nothing

Angel's POV

Scars, multitudes of them, stretching across his torso. They look sort of like they were made from him being whipped by something. Horrified, I step around him so that his back is revealed to me. It's even worse than his front, criss-crossed with so many marks that there's no unscarred skin at all. My hand simply goes right through him when I put my hand on his back, and I can't help a small sob.

He ducks down and I realize that he's taking his pants off. I squeak and drift up into the ceiling and up onto the roof, allowing him his privacy while he changes. I sit down on the sloped tiles and sob as the stars circle over my head, mentally taking back everything I'd ever said bad about Seto because now I think I understand why he is the way he is. And yet, some part of me thinks that the scars aren't even the worst part of it.

When I know that he is asleep I immerse myself in his mind, dreading what I'm about to do. He's sitting up on his bed, staring blindly into the dark that I've created for him. As soon as I sit down he flinches away, an unconscious gesture that makes my heart squeeze painfully in my chest. Gently I reach out and cup his cheek in my hand. He sighs and leans into the touch, closing his beautiful blue eyes.

"I saw the scars." I whisper, regretfully breaking the peaceful silence. His eyes shoot back open and they look dismayed.

"What?" He stammered.

"The scars on your chest and back." I see him gulp, but he doesn't say anything. "Seto, who did that to you?" He shakes his head and looks down. Taking a chance I trail my hand down his cheek, down his neck and under the collar of his white, button-up, long-sleeved pyjamas. He stiffens, but I shush him gently and use my free hand to undo the first few buttons of his shirt, revealing some of the scars.

"Is this why you think you're dirty, used?" I ask in a soft murmur, rubbing my hand against the warm skin. "This doesn't disgust me at all, they're only scars." To prove my point I lower my head and gently kiss one of the visible scars on my chest. He gasps and shudders, but I can tell it's not out of fear or pain. "I don't care if you are scarred, freckled, pasty or acne covered, you are beautiful to me."

He moans as I lift my lips and begin to suck gently on his pulse point. His skin warms further under my hands and I take a chance and unbutton his shirt all the way. He doesn't protest, indeed his eyes are closed, head to one side and he's panting slightly at my ministrations. I decide to take the chance and run one finger along the waistband of his pyjama pants.

His eyes shoot open and he bats my hands away from him, scurrying back quickly, a look of absolute terror on his face. He's trembling all over as I place my palm on his cheek again. "Shh, Seto, I'm not going to hurt you." Slowly I draw him into my arms, enfolding him in a soft embrace. Though still shaking he leans into the touch, his head against my chest.

"Whoever hurt you didn't just give you those scars did they?" He doesn't answer me, but shivers some more. I lift one hand to gently stroke his hair, hoping to calm him a little for what I'm about to say. "That same person also took your innocence, didn't they?"

The soft sob that greets my quiet words is all the answer I need. I hold him closer, kissing the top of his head as he continues to cry. No one else sees him like this, vulnerable, and unsure of himself, only me. Unlike most of the people in his life I would not use his weakness to my advantage, that's not what an angel does, a demon maybe, but not an angel. And I love him, so I would never hurt him that way.

"I'd never leave you because someone hurt you that way. No decent person would, and you know what? Even though it is my job to protect you, I want to protect you for more than just that reason."

"And what's that?" Seto asks, his voice still choked up. I press my face into his hair, inhaling the soft scent of his pomegranate shampoo, before I lower my lips to his ear to whisper quietly

"Because I love you." I say to him, feeling him shiver at the feel of my hot breath on his ear. "And someday, I hope that you will love me back."

Seto's POV

I wake up in a brightly lit room, the soft whisper of my conscience in my head, telling me that he loves me. It doesn't seem possible. I'm not lovable! I know what people say about me, that I'm cold, malicious, cruel, single-minded, robotic, the list goes on and on. No one has ever described me as lovable. Perhaps Mokuba would say differently, but he's my brother, that's different.

I numbly head into the bathroom and stare at myself in the mirror. I unbutton my shirt and look down in disgust at the scars criss-crossing my body. All at once I can feel his warm hand on my chest, and his soft lips kissing my scars, telling me that I'm beautiful, even with the scars. It makes me feel...dare I say it, warm and fuzzy inside.

I shake my head and get dressed for school. On the way to the limo I think about my Blue-Eyes and decide to drive myself so that I can go to the warehouse and summon them again. I want to just talk to them, learn what I can about their kind, their world and all that. At lunch of course I sit down with Yugi and the others, but this time, I have something of my own to add to the conversation.

"What would you say if I told you that someone told me that they were in love with me?" The words pop out before I can stop them and silence meets my world as everyone at the table turns to stare at me. Bakura snorts.

"I'd ask them what the hell they were on." He grumbles, which earns him a cuff and a scolding from Ryou.

"Is this someone from work, or school, or wherever?" Tea asked.

"This is simply hypothetical." I reply, which wins a derisive snort from Tristan, who, as usual, is stuffing his face. "And must you eat like it's going to be taken away from you?"

"Hey, once upon a time if I didn't eat quick, it would have." Tristan says, thankfully with his mouth empty. "Old habits die hard. Me and Joey both came from the wrong side of the tracks, remember?"

"Right." My chest hurts at the mention of Joey, and I see Yugi's normally cheerful face fall. I quickly change the subject. "If someone had broached the subject of love at work, I would not trust it one bit at all anyways."

"Probably wise." Yami says in his usual ironic way. "This hypothetical person, do you like them back?"

"What does that have to do with anything, it's hypothetical!" He simply shrugs.

"I wouldn't think it's weird." Yugi states calmly. "Everybody deserves to find love."

"Thank you." I tell him. The topic from there goes off on a tangent and I fade back into silence once more.

Later on I try my best to remember which warehouse is the one that I summoned the Blue-Eyes in. Eventually I find it and step inside. It feels lonely without the sound of laughter, arguing and the sight of people running around, necking and playfully pummelling each other, but oh well.

I relax my mind, allowing the magic to seep out of me as I prepare to summon 'the girls'. It isn't long before I hear a massive bang, and open my eyes. Three sets of annoyed blue eyes stare down at me, along with a pair of dull, sad red ones. I take a step back and stare in surprise at the Red Eyes Black dragon.

"You must be Akai." I say, regaining my composure. I take another look at him and realize that he is indeed smaller than the three females that are his mates. He sighs sorrowfully.

"Yeah, that's me." His voice is dull, unhappy. It isn't surprising since he has lost his human. I wonder how long it takes for them to get new humans, and even how it is decided which human is theirs. I feel it's unwise to ask him about this, but make a note to ask maybe Kisara, as she seems to be the designated leader of the three Blue-Eyes.

"Do you know who I am?" He gives me a look that reminds of Joey when he thinks...thought I was being an idiot.

"Of course, Seto Kaiba." He replies. "Joey spoke highly of you, when he wasn't mad at you, of course."

"Really?" I say incredulously. Akai nods. "What else did he say?" Akai shifts slightly, looking uncomfortable.

"Well, he did used to say he thought you'd been hurt before."

"Why would he say that?" I ask in surprise, my heart giving a jolt. Akai shifts again.

"Because you act all cocky and arrogant, and it reminded him of when he was in a gang, and had to act tough or be beaten up. He said you were acting so that you wouldn't get hurt again." Akai folds himself up, looking as though he's waiting for me to get mad. I can't feel anything but shock though. Joey was able to see through that? It makes me wonder, what exactly had his life been like before I really started to take notice of him.

"Anything else that you are willing to share?" I finally ask the nervous black dragon. He hesitates a moment before speaking again.

"Only that he wished that you would look at him as something other than just another idiot." Akai admits. He hunches his shoulders and heaves a sigh. "I'm going to go back home now." He disappears with a bang. The girls look at me expectantly. I wave them off and they disappear, leaving me feeling lonelier than ever.

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Wolf: Review plz!


	13. Chapter 13

Wolf: I own nothing!

Angel's POV

Last night I didn't do any talking with Seto really, I just, well, made out with him. It was a sort of test I guess to see how far I can take it. As long as I kept my hands on his torso or his face he had been fine, but as soon as I moved my hands towards his legs, or his genital area, he tensed up and I'd spend a couple minutes calming him back down.

I feel like we're at a crossroads at this moment in time. He knows that I know his deep, dark secret, and he now has to make the decision to trust me and allow this to continue, even though I know, and he's terrified of a physical relationship. I just have to wait and see what he chooses to do, and in the meantime, not do anything that might freak him out too badly.

I'm honestly shaking with nerves as he heads to work with me in tow. I'm so freaked out that he'll decide it's better to live without the risk of getting hurt again and ask me to leave him alone. I'd never truly be away from me, but that would be so painful, to have to watch over him, and know that I could never touch him, never talk to him again.

I'm in the elevator, not paying attention because I'm trying not to shake so much when I realize that Nikita is in there with me and Seto, and she's staring right at me. As soon as she realizes she has my attention she jerks her head slightly in a 'follow me' gesture. I widen my eyes and look at Seto, but she just rolls her eyes and makes a face at me.

I decide to go with it, I mean, Seto can do all that stuff with his shadow powers now, and realistically, I can't exactly do much if he gets into physical trouble. Oh, I can 'tap' other people, sort of let them know that something's wrong, but that's about it unless I manifest, and that is a no-no, a big fat no-no unless it's something really, really important, and even then you get the whole trial and investigation into the use of it, it's a nightmare.

So, Nikita stays on the elevator and heads up to the roof, which she's able to access with her higher up employee swipe card, which I hadn't realized that people had. She immediately traipses over to the edge of the roof and sits down with her legs dangling over the edge. It makes me nervous, but it doesn't look like she's planning to jump or anything.

"You seem kind of twitchy today, so I thought I'd see what was up." She says, not looking up from staring down at the city below. I'm not really supposed to talk to her, so I don't say anything. She chuckles. "I know that you're not allowed to really talk directly to humans, but you are allowed to talk to me."

"Says who?" The words escape my lips before I can stop them. She turns and grins at me. "And how come you can see me?"

"That is my little secret, my winged friend." She replies impishly.

"But how come you can talk to me? Yami couldn't." She frowns slightly and then nods in understanding.

"Yami's a special case, and so am I, but we're different kinds of special cases, and that's all I'm going to say." She says after a moment of thinking. "So, what's up with you?"

"Um, it's complicated." I sit down beside her on the ledge and look down. Being an angel, I have no fear of heights. "But, the basic gist of it is that I've fallen in love with Seto, and I'm trying to get him to fall for me."

"How?"

"I can go into his dreams, I can't let him see me, but I can do whatever else I want." I explain.

"And how is that going?" She asks. "Actually I can guess that there is a few problems from your shakiness today."

"It's more... it's more I'm worried about how he's going to decide what he wants. I can't do anything he doesn't want, and if he asks me to leave, I have to leave, but if he does..."

"Then you're stuck looking after the man you love, who doesn't love you back." Nikita finishes. I nod my head glumly. "Well, life's not life without a few risks, and love is one of the biggest. My advice, just keep praying. If you've done everything right, it should turn out ok."

She pats her knees and then stands up. "Well, now, we both should get back to work, but it was nice talking to you."

"You too." I stay seated until she leaves, wondering just what the hell she really is.

Seto's POV

I really, really need to talk to someone about this, not a therapist, because they would just send me to the nuthouse, but someone that will get that I need help deciding what to do next in this relationship. I can't talk to Mokuba, because let's face it, he's never had a girlfriend, or a boyfriend, so he can't give relationship advice. I finally decide to call on Yugi, because he's the only one of that group that won't think it's weird that I'm coming to him for relationship advice.

So, I dial the number and to my relief it's Yugi who answers the phone. "Hello, Yugi."

"Oh, hello, Seto." His voice is surprised, and a little confused.

"I need to speak with you about something important and private, is there somewhere we can meet?"

"Umm, no one but me is home right now, so if you want to come over here, that would be good, right?"

"Right, I'll see you there in a few minutes." I hang up the phone and tell the secretary I'm leaving for a little while and head to Yugi's house. I've never been inside the apartment above the shop, only the shop and I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to see.

The little apartment seems a little cramped to someone of my stature, but it has all the essentials, kitchen, living room and presumably bedrooms and bathroom along the hall, all furnished nicely. The only indication that Yugi's family is not as well off as some is the tiny size of the apartment.

"I know, it's kind of small, but it's home." Yugi sighs, seeing me look around.

"How many bedrooms?"

"Two. Yami and I share."

"That must make things interesting for your grandfather." I comment. He shrugs.

"As long as Yami remembers to soundproof the room with magic before we do anything, we're fine." He replies. He sits down on the battered, but soft couch and gestures for me to do the same. "Now, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"You remember the conversation at lunch the other day?" I ask him to start.

"The hypothetical love interest." Yugi clarifies.

"Yes, well, what if it wasn't hypothetical?" His big violet eyes widen.

"You found someone, congratulations!" He says with a huge smile on his face. I blink, I wasn't expecting a reaction like that.

"Here's the thing though, I'm not sure I want to allow the relationship to...well, take off I guess. I'm scared to tell him that I love him and I'm not sure I want, or can afford to take that risk." Yugi sighs softly.

"Love is always a risk, Seto." He says patiently. "It took so much courage for me to ask Yami out, because what if he didn't like me that way, I would ruin our friendship, you know? But sometimes, you have to ignore the risks, especially if you feel really strongly about this guy."

"It's just...how can someone love me? I know I'm kind of cold, and robotic."

"But that's just a mask, that you put on to intimidate people. Beneath that is a very different, very beautiful person. I've only caught glimpses of it, but trust me, someone could fall in love with it. You just need someone that's not going to put up with any bull from you and who's going to give as good as they got."

"I suppose." I say sceptically. He suddenly smiles and laughs a little, sadly. "What?"

"I was just thinking, Joey was always the one arguing back with you, and calling you out." He says. I realize what he's saying and it doesn't repulse me, as I think it should, but it makes me feel butterflies. I'd admired the blonde for standing up to me, and truthfully he was very handsome, and passionate about everything he cared about. But, that no longer matters, because he's not with us anymore.

"I guess we'll never know about him though." I say softly to Yugi. He looks down and nods, biting his lip and holding back tears. I leave him to grieve alone, mostly because I have no idea what to do if he started really crying. But, all the way home I think about what he said, and I think I finally know what to do. Things are finally coming together.

But as I step inside the house, fate decides to throw me for a loop, and the devil himself is inside, watching me with the smirk that always made my skin crawl.

"Hello, son."

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Wolf: Review plz!


	14. Chapter 14

Star: Done a little tweaking, taking out the adult content, sorry!

Seto's POV

I swear to all the gods that my entire body goes ice cold as Gozaburo, my stepfather, whom I thought dead, rises up and walks towards me with that awful smirk on his face. "You're dead." I manage to croak out.

"As hard as you tried to make that reality on that ship, in the game, my body wasn't actually on that ship, and so I survived." His smirk grows wider and it makes me feel like screaming. "The destruction of the program triggered the end of my stasis, I've spent the last few months rehabilitating."

"And why are you here now?" I ask, throat bobbing nervously.

"Oh, I think you know the answer to that, Seto." Gozaburo replies. He's so close to me now that I can smell his cigar-tainted breath. I try to back away, but only wind up hitting the door. "I've come back to claim what's mine." He grins horribly, and traces my cheek with one finger. I shudder and try to pull away.

"The company has done better under my leadership." I say, managing to slip away from him.

"You really think that I'm talking about the company? Though I may take that back later." He adds as an afterthought. "Better yet, I should be able to make you give it back to me."

"I have to check on Mokuba." I say, heading up the stairs.

"He's turning into a fine young man." Gozaburo comments. "Just like you were." The words make my skin crawl and I move up the stairs as fast as I can without making it look like I'm running away.

"Mokuba?" His door is closed, and locked, something it never is. "It's me, Seto, let me in Mokuba."

The door is flung open and I am nearly thrown off my feet as Mokuba flings himself into my arms. I quickly bring us both back into his room and lock the door behind me. Mokuba refuses to let go of me, his hands balled into fists in my coat. He's even crying a little.

"Mokuba, Mokuba...did he do something to you?" I ask, hoping to all the gods out there that he hasn't taken my brother's innocence as well as mine. Relief eases the knots in my stomach a little when he shakes his head.

"He was just looking at me, but the look was like he was going to eat me or something." Mokuba snuffles. "It scared me, so I came up here and locked the door. I've been up here since. Seto, he scares me, even more so than when I was a kid, because I think he's gone crazy."

"He was always crazy." I mutter. Mokuba snuffles again. "Mokuba, listen, I don't want you here alone with him. If you have to go home when I'm not, go to one of your friends' houses, or come to work with me, do you understand?" His eyes are very wide now, but he nods.

"Seto, can I sleep in your room tonight? I'd feel a lot safer." I hug him close to me.

"Of course, Mokuba." We walk quietly to my room, Mokuba with a book for reading until bed, and lock the door behind us. I settle down to look through some things for work and Mokuba reads. After awhile something occurs to me. "Mokuba, do you think it was possible that Joey liked me?" He stares at me a moment, trying to decide if I'm joking.

"I think he did, though I don't know why, you were so mean to him sometimes." He finally replies. He then yawns and puts his book down.

"Bedtime?" I say, looking at the clock to see that it's after ten already. He nods and we both change into our pyjamas. Once in bed he cuddles up against my side like a little kitten. I put my arms around him and hope that I can protect him from Gozaburo.

I fall asleep, and I wake up once more in darkness. "It was him wasn't it? He's the one that hurt you." My guy's voice is sad and angry all at once.

"His name is Gozaburo, and he's my stepfather." I say in reply, ashamed when my voice quavers. I hear him growl in anger and instinctively I curl up as small as possible. As soon as I do this he takes me into his arms and rocks me gently.

"Oh, Seto, I'm not mad at you, nor am I disgusted by you." He says softly. "I'm disgusted by the person that would do such horrible things, and I'm mad because I can't protect you from him. You don't deserve to be treated like that." I hear the breath hitch in his throat and realize that he's struggling not to cry. "I want to hurt him, destroy him, make it so that he could never hurt you again, and I am not allowed to!"

He...he wants to protect me? He's not disgusted by me? Could it be that he really, truly loves me? Could I take that chance, could I give myself completely to him? I search myself and the answer that I find shocks me to my core. There's only one thing left I can do.

"I love you." I whisper, bringing my hands up to his face and kissing his perfect lips. This beautiful, protective wonderful person, I love him so much, he is my angel. Yes, that's it, my angel. "I'm going to call you Angel from now on, because I doubt you could tell me your name."

"That's alright with me." He sighs, leaning down to kiss me again, his big, calloused palms running down my arms and over my chest. His touch makes me forget the sensation of Gozaburo's hands away. "Ahh, Seto." He sighs again as I run my hands over his muscular chest.

"You said I didn't deserve to be treated the way Gozaburo treated me."

"Yeah."

"Then show me how I should be treated." His movements halt, and I feel him tremble just slightly.

"Are you sure Seto? I don't want to hurt you." My angel says so sweetly. I can't help it though, I tremble with nerves. "No, you're not ready for anything like this, but I think I can do this."

He proceeds to pull me into another mind-blowing kiss. If I wasn't being held by him I think I'd probably collapse in a heap, unable to stop trembling in the wake of the powerful emotions I can feel in his kiss. He stops, allowing me to breathe, but I can feel his hand gently caressing my face.

"That's how I deserve to be treated?"

"Yes." He replies in a whisper, kissing my cheek. I feel tears slide down my cheeks and he kisses them away.

"Thank you." I choke up. "I love you, my Angel." He pulls me even closer and I fall asleep once more, curled up in his arms.

The morning sun wakes me. I sit up in bed, and find Mokuba still curled there. My body still buzzes from the events last night and I fall back again, basking in the contented glow surrounding me. But it can't last, and soon I must get up to work, and face Gozaburo again. I don't even have something to remind me of the night, to keep my spirits up.

Something is tickling my chest. I reach down without looking and grasp whatever it is. My hand closes around something delicate and soft. Amazed, confused and awed, I bring the object to my face. It's a single, long, creamy white feather.

Star: Sorry it's been shortened so much, for those that remember that there was a lemon in this, it was kind of a rush job. Hopefully I can try and fix it later, but I never have the time.


	15. Chapter 15

Wolf: I own nothing!

Seto's POV

The last few days have been a waiting and hiding game. So far Gozaburo has yet to try anything on me, or Mokuba, not that Mokuba is ever home alone with the bastard, I'm going to make sure of that. I have a feeling that he's toying with me, letting me get freaked out and then striking when I finally let my guard down. If that is the case, then he'll be waiting until the stars grow cold, because I know too well his tactics, and I am not falling for them again.

School is torture, because Yugi has figured out that something is wrong, and pesters me incessantly about it. It's kind of sweet, but I can't tell them, I'm too afraid of what they'll think, and I don't want to drag them into this. The fact of the matter is I'm afraid that Gozaburo would go after them too, and I don't want that to happen to my friends. Yes, they are my friends, I realize that now.

Work is not much better, in a different way though. Every time I hear footsteps or the elevator ding, or any sort of noise really I think it's him, come to claim the company, and me. I'm so jumpy that when I'm walking down the hall, and someone taps me on the shoulder I jump a good foot in the air.

"Wow, easy there tiger." Nikita teases as I whirl to face her. "It's not an assassin, though I am considering training."

"That wouldn't surprise me." I gasp, trying to calm my racing heart. Her smirk disappears as she stares into my face.

"You alright, boss?" She asks. "You look paler than usual and you've been so jumpy." I try for a smile, but from her frown it obviously fails miserably.

"It's nothing you need to worry about." I finally say to her.

"But it's something you need to worry about?" She demands, unwilling to let this go.

"I can handle it." I reply, keeping my voice firm. Her frown softens and reaches out to touch my shoulder just lightly.

"I really hope that you're telling me the truth, Seto." She says, her voice oddly choked, and then turns and walks away as fast as her high heels can take her. I scratch my head in bemusement, and then realize that I might actually consider Nikita a friend as well. The thought is pleasant.

Mokuba comes by as soon as his school lets out. He does all his homework while he waits for me to get done work. I'm glad he's doing as I've asked him too, but I think that he fears Gozaburo too, maybe not to the extent that I do, but I hope it never comes to that. He's yawning widely by the time I tell him to pack up.

I don't see Gozaburo anywhere when we get inside the house, but that doesn't mean much. I escort Mokuba up to his room, making sure I hear his door lock before I head to my own room, feeling bone tired. I turn the lock and can't help but a sigh of relief at the sound of the only thing keeping that monster out of my room.

"Excellent, now we can't be disturbed." My entire body goes tense and cold, and I slowly turn to find Gozaburo sitting in an armchair in the corner of my room, smirking at me. I grab the door handle, but he's suddenly right in front of me, his body pressing mine to the door, hand taking mine away from the door handle.

"There will be none of that." He growls, and I can smell the mixture of brandy and cigar on his breath. It makes me want to throw up. With easy strength he tugs me away from the door and presses me to the wall on the far side of the room. I'm frozen, unable to move until he starts undoing my belt. I start to struggle, almost freeing myself from him until he slams my head against the wall.

"Would you rather I go and find your dear little brother?" He snarls at me. I gaze at him, horrified. "I will do it, you know I will. Do you want that?"

"No, no not Mokuba, please." I'm ashamed that I'm begging, but I have to protect Mokuba from this monster, and this is the only way. "I'll do what you want." I whimper.

"Of course you will." He hisses in my ear, continuing to undo my belt. I squeeze my eyes shut, tears leaking out of the corners, hoping it will be over quickly. I think about my Angel, and absurdly, pray that he's not seeing me like this. I'm sorry I can't protect myself, I think silently to him as my pants slide down to my knees.

Then all the sudden there's this sound like a lion roaring and a flash of bright light appears, bright enough to be seen through my closed eyelids. My eyes pop open just in time to see a brightly glowing arm grab Gozaburo and throw him away from me. The figure then turns to stare at him sprawled now on the ground, burning nearly too bright to look at and points a finger at him.

"**You will not touch him again!"** He cries, his voice huge and bell-like. And then I realize that it's also the voice of my Angel. Looking closer I can see shimmering wings spreading out from his shoulder blades. So he really is an angel after all.

Gozaburo however is not impressed. "I'm not scared by your little tricks." He sneers, getting to my feet. It's then that the mindless fear that I've been operating under lifts, and I remember that I now have some new powers. Quickly I summon the Blue Eyes, who wisely choose a much smaller form than usual.

As Gozaburo goes to stand, Kisara unleashes a Burst Stream, hitting the carpet just at his feet, singing it. He stares at it, and then me, surrounded by three miniature, pissed off dragons. "Never again." I tell him firmly.

"Brat!" He roars.

"Is there any way to tie him up?" I ask Kisara. She nods and Aoi and Shira cast out ropes made of purple-black shadows, binding him up so tightly he can't move, and for good measure, they gag him.

"**Well done, Seto." **My angel praises, and I look up at him. The bright glow is starting to fade, and I can now start to make out details of his face. I see the strong chin, and pink lips, a crooked nose, and now I can see that his eyes are soft and honey-coloured. His hair is a blonde mess...oh my god, I know my angel, I know who this is, and it shocks me to the core, and the only thing I can do is whisper

"Joey?"

Angel's POV

When that bastard pushes my Seto against the wall and gets ready to rape him, I just see red. Anger floods through my veins, making my whole body hot. My vision blinds out and I roar in rage, letting it explode out in a grand show of light. In other words I manifest.

It feels amazing, I feel powerful and huge. It's like I'm on a caffeine high and speed all at once and I feel unstoppable. And then Seto comes out with his dragons, and I'm so proud of him for standing up to his demons. As I start to come down from the high of manifesting, I realize that I'm probably about to be pulled off this job, but I don't regret protecting him.

I turn to him and his eyes travel over me. I let him take a good look at me, just this once, before I have to go. Suddenly his look turns from triumph to horror and pain. "Joey?" I hear him whisper. I frown, that name, it jogs my memory, but I don't know why.

"Joey, is it really you?" He comes forward and cups my face in his hands. His face is so joyous, I hate to bring him down.

"**Seto, I don't have a name."** I say to him gently. He stares down into my eyes and his fingers stroke my cheeks.

"But you do." He insists in a whisper. "Your name is Joey Wheeler, and you were killed..." He swallows. "You were killed months ago by your father in a drunken rage."

My mind explodes with memory. I remember my name, my friends, my life, and my death. I gasp out loud, the sound like a sob and Seto catches me in his arms. I just want to bury myself in his embrace and forget everything, but a hand on my shoulder makes me look up. It's Michael, and he looks at me with dark sorrow in his eyes.

"**I'm sorry Joey, but we have to go now."** He takes a hold of me, impossibly strong and I can feel him pulling us both to the afterlife. I scream and fight, but nothing helps, and the last thing that I see of the mortal world is Seto's bewildered, beautiful face.

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Wolf: Review plz!


	16. Chapter 16

Wolf: I own nothing!

Seto's POV

I can only stand there, staring stunned at the place where Joey had just been standing before he was dragged to who-knows-where by that strange man. The thing that snaps me out of my daze is the sound of frantic knocking at my door.

"Seto, Seto, is everything ok?" Mokuba asks, voice muffled by the door between them. "I heard screaming."

I march over to the door, pointedly ignoring my still tied up stepfather, and yank it open. Mokuba blinks at the sight of me, and then his eyes widen at the sight of Gozaburo gagged and bound on the floor with three mini dragons keeping guard over him.

"Mokuba, call Yami, tell him to get...Bakura, and get over here, tell him that it's an emergency." I order. His eyes are huge as he nods and runs to find the telephone. As soon as he leaves I turn back to Gozaburo and glare at him. There's none of that old, mindless fear anymore when I look at him, because now I know that I can defend myself against him.

"You're going to a place where you can't hurt anyone anymore, and you'll get what you deserve for the pain you've already caused." I snarl quietly at him. I'm gratified to see a flicker of fear go through his muddy brown eyes.

"Yami said he'll be right over." Mokuba reports as he comes back in the room at a run. "What exactly happened here?"

"It doesn't matter." I say, shaking my head. "He can't hurt us anymore."

"Ok, but what about the dragons?" The three Blue-Eyes come over to rest themselves on me, one on each shoulder, and one atop my head.

"Hello, Mokuba, I am Kisara, and these are my sisters Aoi and Shira." Kisara says from on top of my head. "We are Seto's spirit monsters, we guard and obey him."

"Unless we think he's being stupid of course." Aoi adds with a toss of his head. "There's always that to think about."

"Thank you for the vote of confidence Aoi." I say. I hear the doorbell ring and Mokuba scampers off to get it. He comes back with Yami, Yugi, Bakura, and oddly enough, Nikita. Nikita is wearing a pair of artfully patched jeans and a blue and black zigzagged t-shirt. I can't say I've ever seen her outside of work attire before.

"Is there something you needed to see me for, Nikita?" I ask her, blocking her view of what's inside the bedroom.

"No, but you just had an angel manifest in here, so I figured I'd see what's up." She replies. I am easily the most shocked I've ever been talking to her, and that's saying a lot with Nikita. "So, going to let us in on the secret?"

"How did you know there was an angel here?" I choke out.

"Long story." She responds shortly and then pushes her way past me into the bedroom before I can stop her. "Well, isn't this interesting?" She plants her feet, hands on her hips and grins nastily at Gozaburo all tied up.

"I thought he was dead." Yami states flatly, glaring at the man that had once trapped them all in a video game.

"So did I."I reply. "Bakura, can you find a good spot to leave him in the Shadow Realm, permanently?" Bakura's eyes widen before they narrow and a cruel grin lights up his features.

"Oh, I think I know a few good places." He then crosses his arms and gives me a speculative look. "But first, I'd like to know what happened here." The rest of them nod and look at me expectantly.

"It's...a long story." I say, wondering where to begin. "Because getting rid of him is only part of why I needed you here tonight." Yami raises an eyebrow in a 'well?' expression. "It started some time ago with these dreams. In these dreams it was dark, but there was another man with me. After some time that man...became my lover." I wait to see if they ridicule me, but they just stare at me, waiting. "Tonight, Gozaburo was going to hurt me, and my angel appeared to stop him. My angel was the man from my dream, and also...Joey." There's a collective gasp.

"That's not funny, Kaiba." Bakura hisses.

"I'm not joking."

"Where is he then?"

"He was dragged into the afterlife by another angel." I explain. "What I need us to do is go in there, find him, and bring him back." Yami's brows furrow together.

"Seto, I may know how to get to the afterlife, but you don't want to be wandering willy-nilly in there, time doesn't run right there, and you could wind up in there for years if you're not careful." He explains slowly.

"Ah, that's where I can help." Nikita says, giving them all a smile. "I know where to go to find your little wayward angel."

"What? How?" Bakura demands.

"That is my little secret for now." Nikita replies. "Hey, you ok?" She asks Yugi, who hasn't said a word since finding out Joey was an angel.

"I can't believe it, he never made any sign that he was there?" Yugi whispered, tears brimming in his eyes.

"He didn't remember his life." I say quietly. "It was only when I told him who he was that he remembered."

"I could see him." Yami admits to Yugi. "It's true. He looked at me, and didn't know me. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, aibou, but you'd want to talk to him and that just wouldn't have gone over well."

"You were trying to protect me?" Yugi sniffs. Yami nods. Yugi wraps his arms around him and cries into his shirt.

"While Yugi calms down, I'm going to go get rid of him." Bakura grunts and saunters over to Gozaburo. Bakura gives us all a predatory grin and then disappears with my stepfather. He's gone now, gone forever, for real this time.

Joey's POV

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME?" I scream at Michael as soon as the whirlwind ride of getting back to the afterlife.

"I brought you back to the afterlife, calm down Joseph."

"Like hell I will." I snarl. "And I'm not talking about now. Why the hell would you steal my memory and make me Seto's guardian angel. WHAT KIND OF SICK, TWISTED JOKE WAS THAT?"

"I did it because you wanted me to." Michael states flatly. I stop and stare at him.

"Wha? I don't remember that." He sighs and rubs his head.

"You probably still have some holes in your memory." He groans. "Here's the deal. When you first showed up in the afterlife you came looking for one of the Named, or one of the gods. You found me first. You begged me to give you a way to see Seto again, because you loved him, and you hadn't got a chance to tell him that."

"I didn't ever think I'd get to either." I mumble, starting to sniffle a little.

"Right. I told you it wasn't possible, but you kept at me." Michael continues. "After awhile I told you about becoming an angel. I told you, in order for a human to become an angel you had to give up your memories. You said that you didn't care as long as you got to look after Seto."

"And so you made me an angel?" Michael nods. "Can't you just zap my memory again and send me back?" I plead.

"I can't. He'll know your voice now, and either he'll find a way to get your memory back again, or he'll go insane trying." Michael says softly, his voice agonized. "I really am sorry, Joseph."

"So, what happens to me now?" I ask, fighting back tears.

"Either you get assigned someone else, or you get stripped of your angel rank and go back to being another human in the afterlife." Michael sighs. "But that's up to the bosses to decide. Until then, just, I don't know, fly around a little."

And with that he leaves me, probably has work to do, but I wish he'd stay because I feel so damned lonely. I sit down, head in my hands and allow the sobs to wrack my body. I have only one small consolation, and it's that Seto now knows that I love him.

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Wolf: Man, I'm just drawing this out to torture you guys, aren't I? Review plz!


	17. Chapter 17

Wolf: I own nothing!

Seto's POV

"Well, that was, unpleasant." I say as I pick myself up from the floor of whatever I've just landed on. Yami had been the one to open a portal to the afterlife, and the resulting sensation was a little like being pulled apart from the inside out.

"Yeah, well, the living normally don't come here." Yami replies, rubbing Yugi's back as the small boy finishes dry-heaving.

"All things considered, I think Yami did a good job." Strangely enough Nikita doesn't seem to have suffered any ill effects, and even Yami and Bakura look slightly grey. I eyeball her, but she only gives a raised eyebrow and a shrug in return. Mokuba had begged to come, but I wouldn't allow it.

"Now, where exactly are we in the afterlife?" Bakura asks, looking around. I do as well, and start to notice that where we are looks an awful lot like an Egyptian palace.

"I know this place." Yami murmured thoughtfully.

"ATEM!" Someone suddenly yells. Yami whips around so fast I fear he's going to give himself whiplash. I turn around as well to see a number of people dressed in traditional Egyptian attire walking towards us. One looks like a dark-skinned version of me, and I realize that the people are Yami's family and priests, from ancient times.

"Father?" Yami whispers, taking a few unconscious steps forward. A tall man, robed in white and caped in red with grey hair and crimson eyes quickly embraces Yami, pulling him close.

"Atem, my son, you've come back to us." He murmurs, his voice choked with emotion.

"Not quite." Yami replied, voice just as choked. He disentangles himself from his father's embrace.

"What do you mean?"

"I have a new life now, and a new love." Yami responds, taking Yugi's hand and drawing him close. Yugi looks up shyly at Yami's father. "I'll come someday, but not now."

"Then why are you here?" My look-alike asks. I remember his name now, Seth.

"We're here looking to rescue a friend, now if you'll excuse us, we need to go." Bakura pipes up.

"YOU!" Seth roars. Bakura rolls his eyes.

"Gods above, we do not have time for this!" The former thief groans.

"He's right." Nikita sighs. "Remember what Yami said about time in this place?" Yami looks reluctant to leave, but Yugi squeezes his hand and he sighs.

"I will come home someday, and then I'll explain everything, I promise." Yami tells his father and then turns away. "Lead on, Nikita."

Nikita sets out on a fast pace. We travel through different versions of what people view 'heaven' to be, getting older the farther we go in. The people stare at us as we go by, but don't bother with us otherwise. Finally we reach a huge garden, set right in the centre of everything, gated with gold and shining like the sun.

"Eden?" Yugi asks, remembering religion class. Nikita shrugs.

"They say once upon a time humans lived here before they set out looking for their own place, so it's probably the inspiration for that story." She replies. She puts a hand on the gates and they silently open. The garden is like nothing on Earth, it's brighter, more fragrant and just...more than anything I've ever seen. I can't even describe it.

And there are angels everywhere. Every one of them looks up as we go past with mild surprise. I pay no attention to them though, searching for that familiar face. And then, I see it, a mop of messy blonde hair on an angel sitting all by his lonesome. My heart speeds up and I race towards my Angel.

Joey's POV

I'm sitting here all alone, feeling sorry for myself. I've lost the man I love, and there's nothing I can do about it. "JOEY!" The sudden, frantic voice calling my name makes me turn. I am yanked to my feet and pulled into a heart-stopping, searing kiss. I pull back from it with a gasp and stare up into Seto's desperate blue eyes.

"You...you came looking for me?" I ask, stunned, feeling tears prick my eyes. "You still want me, even though I'm just the Mutt?" He enfolds me in his arms, burying his face in my neck.

"My mutt, my puppy." His hot breath makes me shiver, as does the kiss he presses against my throat. "I love you, no matter what. Do you?"

"Of course." I sob. "I've loved you for a long time."

"Can you forgive me for all those cruel things I always used to say to you?" Seto asks me, his eyes pleading. I rest my head on his chest, for once being the one needing comfort.

"Of course."

"Great, now let's get out of here." I look up to find Bakura, Yami, Yugi and Nikita standing behind Seto.

"You all came?" I snuffle. Yugi bursts into tears and hugs me so hard I feel like I'm going to break.

"Let's go home." He manages to choke out, and takes my hand.

"I'm afraid that cannot be done." I groan at the sound of Michael's voice. I look at him, but it's hard to tell how he's feeling because he's glowing bright enough that you can't make out his face.

"Who are you?" Seto demands with his characteristic amount of distain and authority.

"You could say that I'm Joseph's supervisor." Michael replies politely. "And even if you bring him back to the mortal realm, he'll still be an angel, and you won't be able to see him, or touch him, or anything."

This made Seto pause a moment. "Is there nothing that can be done?" The proud man pleads. Michael shakes his head.

"That's not true Mikey, and you know it!" Nikita's fierce, bright voice rings out. Mike jolts and then looks down on her.

"Oh, what are you doing here?" He groans. Nikita grins, not a particularly comforting grin, at him.

"I came because I figured they could use my expertise." She replies. "Turn off the light show, you're giving me a head ache." The glow around Mike fades until we can all see a dark skinned, big bald man with dark, dark eyes, watching Nikita with a mixed look of resignation and annoyance. "Now then, what about Falling?"

Mike jerks and stares at her harder. "Falling?" I repeat. "What's that?"

"It's a way for angels to become human." Nikita answers before Mike can stop her.

"Nikita..." Michael sighs, rubbing his temples.

"He's still an angel, isn't he?" Nikita prods.

"Until the bosses decide what to do with him, yes." Mike admits reluctantly.

"Then he can Fall." Nikita says, obviously pleased.

"What is Falling?" I ask.

"It's what it sounds like." Michael replies. "Angels don't fall, because we can fly, but when you Fall, you allow yourself to fall off something, and when you hit ground, you become human."

"How come I never heard of this before?" I ask suspiciously.

"Because we're not supposed to know." Nikita says all too cheerfully, and suddenly, it clicks.

"You were an angel weren't you? And then you Fell." She slowly nods, grinning at me.

"Haruhi was my assignment, and, I fell in love with her." She says, eyes going soft and melancholy. "I kept pestering Mikey here about ways to be with her, and one day he accidently let it slip out."

"Let me guess, first thing you did was Fall?" Seto asks her. She nods, grinning again.

"And then I started courting Haruhi, and working on getting a degree. A few months later we were steady, a few years later I was working at Kaiba Corp., and then... she died, leaving this big gaping hole in my life."

"How did you go on?" Seto asks.

"I went on because my life was not just her, and we had promised not to do a Romeo and Juliet. I had to honour that promise." Nikita finishes sadly. "But, anyways, now you know how to become human again."

"Do you want to do this, puppy?" Seto asks me, sliding his arms around my waist and looking into my eyes. I stare into his deep blue eyes, finding all the love and affection I'd ever wanted in anyone who would love me. How could I say anything else?

"Let's go Fall."

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Wolf: Review plz!


	18. Chapter 18

Wolf: I own nothing!

Joey's POV

We come out of the afterlife into Seto's room. Immediately Seto's knocked over by Mokuba. I smile, how could I have forgotten Mokuba, he was always such a cute kid.

"You've been gone _hours_ Seto." Mokuba cries. "I was starting to worry."

"Hours?" Seto asks dazedly.

"Told you time runs funny in there." Nikita says smugly. Once again, she and Yami are the only ones that can see me.

"I thought you were going to get Joey? Where is he?" Mokuba asks, looking around the room. I look around the room and notice that Gozaburo's gone as well.

"He's here, you just can't see him." Yami replied. "Only me and Nikita can."

"How come?" Mokuba asks curiously.

"We're just special." Nikita shrugs.

"What happened to the bastard?" I ask her quietly.

"Oh, Bakura set him to the Shadow Realm for the rest of his miserable existence." Nikita answers, probably looking for all the world like she's talking to herself.

"Ok, let's go up the roof and have Joey Fall." Seto says decisively.

"Actually, he's going to want to fall off something tall, like, really tall." Nikita interjects.

"What about the Kaiba Corp building?" I suggest. She nods.

"That's a great idea. He says he can Fall off the Kaiba Corp building." She translates to the rest of them standing there.

"That's a little high, isn't it, puppy?" Seto asks, turning to where he thinks I am. I smile at his concern.

"That's the idea." Nikita huffs. "It's not as though it hurts at all." Seto still looks sceptical, but we all hurry out of the house anyways. I fly alongside the car, because it's uncomfortable knowing that I'd wind up sitting on someone and feeling what they're feeling. Soon enough we come to the building.

"It's all you, kiddo." Nikita grins at me. I nod at her, and smile before making my way to the top of the building.

I look down over the city, the lights from the other buildings, the cars and the street lights. I see the ocean, glittering under a full moon. Down below my friends are just simply little specks, their faces upturned, though only two can see what is about to happen. I don't like heights, I remember now, and standing here is giving me seconds thoughts.

I close my eyes though and think about Seto, think about his body, warm against mine, and his lips, so soft against mine. That's all the incentive I need, and keeping my eyes closed I tilt forward, allowing gravity to take me in its embrace. I Fall, and it seems to last forever and ever, while Seto's face flashes against my closed eyelids, and then just as I'm thinking that I'm going to keep falling to the end of time, everything goes black.

Seto's POV

I peer up at the top of the building, though I know there's nothing to see. I glance over at Nikita and she's staring just as intently. Then, as I watch, her eyes track something falling, down, down, down. As her eyes draw level with the ground a massive explosion of light occurs in front of us. I shield my eyes from the bright glare. I can hear Bakura swearing, but I ignore it, searching in that light for my puppy.

As the light fades I can start to see a figure lying on the ground. I rush over, kneeling beside him. Joey's lying on his back, eyes closed, unconscious probably. He's dressed in a white t-shirt and a pair of jeans, no shoes. I gently stroke his soft blonde hair, lifting his head off the ground and into my lap.

"Wake up, puppy, wake up." I plead softly, leaning down to kiss him on the lips.

"Mmm..." He groans and stirs in my arms. I pull back and watch as his warm, honey-coloured eyes blink open and focus on me. "It worked?"

"Yes, yes it did." I reply, grinning foolishly at him. He grins back and pulls me down into an intense kiss. I slide my hand over his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart there. He grasps that hand in his and continues to kiss me. A polite cough pulls us out of our little moment.

"Ok, it's great and all that you two are together, but I think your brother's a little young for this, don't you think?"

"Aww, shut it Bakura." Joey says, sitting up and glaring at him. He helps me to his feet, kissing me on the cheek and goes over to enthusiastically greet his friends. I'm so happy to see him interacting with them like this, and I almost start crying, because I almost lost him. I will allow the tears to fall later though, when we are alone, I do have a reputation to maintain still.

"Wait, how are we going to explain how Joey's alive?" Yugi asks after a couple minutes.

"You leave that to me. I know who to talk to in order to change records and fabricate stories." I respond with a smirk. "Of course, until I have a feasible story, Joey will have to stay indoors, out of sight." Joey comes over and nuzzles me gently.

"As long as I've got you, I think I can deal with that." He murmurs against my skin, making my face heat up.

The sun's starting to come up now, and it lights the world in colours so bright and beautiful, it's like the gods themselves are celebrating. It reminds me that today is a new day, a new beginning. I put my arm around Joey's waist and he leans into me.

"I'm never letting you go." He tells me tenderly.

"I'm going to hold you to that, my Angel." I murmur back, kissing his cheek. "Are you ready to go home?" He nods his head and we all head for the car. And for once, just this once, I find myself looking forward to what the future will bring.

**THE END**

Wolf: Well, that's it guys, it's over. I'll be back soon with my next story, The Magic War, which is a Yugioh/Shaman King crossover.


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